Bakugan: Incident N
by Kohdoku
Summary: A year after Vestroia was restored, powerful forces caused a small amount of Bakugan to leak out and return to earth. This is the story of one who encountered this phenomenon and what happens as a result, an event known as "Incident N".
1. Chapter 1: Scatterbrained Visitor

Bakugan: Incident N

It has been a year since the Bakugan and the brawlers parted ways after the defeat of Naga and Hal G and the restoration of balance to Vestroia. Since all of the Bakugan left, there was fear that the Brawler culture would die that day. However, Marucho's company quickly saw an opportunity in this vacuum and generated a simply made material version of this game with plastic figures and cards (One which you might be familiar with). It lacked the glitz and glam of the phenomenal cosmic powers that spawned the original game, but it was enough to keep the Brawler network going and of course was quite profitable for Marucho's company.

However, no one suspected that there were still sinister forces at work, or that their eyes had turned towards Earth once more...

*Wheeze*

*Wheeze*

"Please, conserve your strength, Master. I am sure our minions are gethering the necessary things as we speak."

*Wheeze* "And for what reason do you boast such confidence?" *Wheeze* " Our forces are so diminished they couldn't cover a welcome mat together even with adequate personal space." *Wheeze*

"Master, you musn't speak that way. We must have confidence to sustain us."

*Wheeze* "Anger..." *wheeze* Is the only thing that sustains me now...*Wheeze* I only hope what forces we do have will stay in line...this time"

"Fear not, master. With this new method, we need not worry about accidentally losing our forces."

Chapter 1:

It was a sunny weekend afternoon in the park. The weather was moderate and it was a good day to be outside. Such is the case of a group of youngsters who had gathered around a wooden picnic table to watch the unfolding match. Sitting at the table was a young man at least four years older than the others, with black hair, a white headband, and a stoic face. Across from him was his opponent, a chubby boy in a black shirt. With a grin, the younger one reached over and took up a red plastic ball and the metal card which lay underneath.

"Ha, that's two for me!" The chubby one said smugly, "Wow, you sure are bad at this for an older guy," He said, "You've only got one from that trick you did earlier, but I've got two! One more and I win! You should know Haos Bakugan are the weakest ones. Pyrus is the way to go!"

The older one didn't respond. He simply collected his losing bakugan and set it aside. Taking the last metal card in his hand, he set it face down across from his opponent's card for the next round while the other children watched on. However, unbeknownst to all of them, another presence was spectating on the match.

"Hmm" A feminine voice said, "This battle seems pretty ordinary. Maybe a bit better than some of the others, but not much...Still, I have no time. I'll have to pick somebody soon or I'll be in trouble and that would be bad! What am I gonna do?"

The voice hushed as the game continued. The older one took the last gray ball he had in his hand and rolled it along a warp in the wood, causing it to land on the card he'd just played. Suddenly, the ball sprang to life, revealing a dinosaur head and tail wearing a giant pair of shoulderpads.

"Haos Saurus, 330g's." The older one finally said.

"Ha!' The fat one said, "That's your weakest one yet! Well, I'll see you with my best!" He took a larger, red sphere and rolled it onto the same card. This one popped up into an ogre-beast wearing heavy armor. "Pyrus Warius, 590g's!" He said proudly as his best bakugan hit the table, "There's no way you can catch up to that with a puny 330!" A quick flip of the card revealed no stunning bonuses, "See? I told you, I win!" The kid then reached out for his final card. However, the older one's hand shot out and stopped him.

"Not so fast," he said.

"What?" The fat kid said.

"You actually lost this one."

"What? How? I can do math, buster!" The fat kid quipped.

"But this is a special card," The older one said, "It's called "Duck and Win". In this case, The weaker Bakugan wins, so being strong in this case is a bad thing."

The fat kid grumbled, sure that he had won, "Fine," he said, "But you can only use one of those cards! I'll win the next one!" He reached out for his bakugan, but was stopped once more. "What now?" he protested.

"I'm not done," The older one said, "I still need to play this card," From his hand, the older one produced a green paper card with the symbol of Haos clearly emblazoned on the front. A tigrerra was pictured pouncing forward from this symbol. "This is the Haos 2 card," he said, "Because your Warius was so much bigger and stronger than my Saurus, it means I can use this card to take one of your won gate cards and add it to mine."

"Wh-what?!" The cubby one said, "You can't do that! That's not fair!"

"Of course he can, stupid!' Another kid quipped in, "That's what you do with Haos 2!"

"So that means he went from one won gate card to three in one turn?" Another kid said, clasping her hands, "That was amazing!"

"Well, I guess I win the bet, " The older one said as he collected his things, "I managed to beat you with all weaker bakugan, so I get to keep my Sirenoid and you give him back his Dragonoid, okay? And don't play keepsies anymore."

Despite this being greek to most people, the kid understood, he begrudingly took the red sphere and forcefully threw it at a smaller kid who barely caught it. Grumbling sourly, the fat kid grabbed his things and left.

The younger kid took his prized Bakugan in his hand and looked to the taller, older, "Thanks, mister." he said.

"Meh, no prob." The older one replied as he put his backpack on and walked away,

Of course, a certain presence had witnessed the unfolding events.

"Hmm..." The voice said, "He's actually not too bad..." Quietly, the presence turned itself and followed after the young man.

* * * * *

Kirk sighed as he lay in bed. He was in that sort of stage everybody reaches in the morning where they're still too tired to open their eyes and get up, but too awake to fall back asleep. The schoolwork he'd had yesterday had been bad enough, but having to step in on a children's fight hadn't helped his mood much at all. His alarm hadn't gone off yet and he was trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep before he had to get up, but the light coming through his window was making that difficult.

Just as he was trying to decide whether to get up or not, Kirk felt something land on his chest. Too sluggish to to swat whatever it was away, Kirk reluctantly opened his eyes. His vision was still a bit blurry, but he could make out a small, round shape before him. However, his eyes would soon shoot wide open as though a cold bucket of water had been poured over his head.

The thing had clearly said "Hi!"

With a shout, Kirk shot upright, catapuling the thing away from him. It rolled into a familiar-looking sphere and landed at the foot of his bed. Upon landing, it popped open by itself. Was it a bakugan? It seemed to be, but it was in a configuration he hadn't seen before: a pair of arms had unfolded from the center that had been holding down a round ring that popped up and revealed a humanoid torso that folded up in front of it.

"It's about time you woke up!" The "Bakugan" said in a slightly ditzy feminine voice. Kirk simply watched motionlessly, mouth agape, "You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get in here when I'm like this! Anyway, I saw your match yesterday and can tell you're a pretty smooth player. My name is Rabeeder and... Hey! Wait! Where are you going?!" While she was talking Kirk had gotten out of bed and walked swiftly to the bathroom. The bakugan who had called itself Rabeeder bounced off the bed and bounded after him. It bounced onto the sink as Kirk turned on the tap, filling his hands with water.

"What are you doing? Why are you ignorning me?!" Rabeeder protested as Kirk splashed the water all over his face.

"You're clearly just a figment of my imagination," Kirk replied as he reached for a small towel to wipe his face, "I just need to splash some water on my face and eat breakfast and you'll go away."

"I'm not a Fig-Newton of anything!" Rabeeder whined, "I'm just saying I need someone like you to- Hey wait!" But it was too late. Kirk had left the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him, closing Rabeeder inside.

Kirk let out a sigh as he finally tottered into the kitchen, the adrenaline from his sudden waking up finally wearing off. On the table sat a bowl of cereal, a piece of toast and a glass of orange juice waiting for him. There was also a note on the table. "Sorry, had to go into work, here's your breakfast. -Mom" had been quickly scrawled onto the paper. Kirk took a deep breath, crumpled up the paper and sat down to eat. Another breakfast spent alone in the quiet solitude of his house. Not that it bothered him much as he was pretty used to it by now. Kirk took a bite of toast and then reached over to take a sip of OJ.

The glass had just barely touched his lips when he suddenly heard "When are you going to listen to me?!" come at him from shockingly close. Kirk glanced upwards to see that same bakugan now perched on the top rim of his tilted glass. With another shout, Kirk quickly slammed down the glass onto the table.

"Woah, woah!" Rabeeder said as she tottered on the rim from the shock. However, she couldn't regain her balance and plunged into the juice. "Help! I'm drowning!" She yelled as her stubby arms flailed uselessly in the citrus beverage. At first Kirk only watched in stunned and annoyed silence as this miniature spectacle took place. Compared with this, the question of how she'd miraculously gotten out of the bathroom in the first place just didn't seem important. Finally, he grabbed the bakugan in his index finger and thumb and drew it out of the glass. It coughed even though it didn't seem to have a mouth. "Rrgh..." She weakly groaned, "I can't believe I'm cursed to be stuck in a form like this..."

"Frankly, I can't believe I'm talking to a piece of plastic," Kirk replied, standing up.

"Still," Rabeeder said as she dangled in the air, "Now that I finally have your attention, we can talk about what we have to d-blurgh!" Rabeeder again found herself interrupted, however this time it was because Kirk had placed her in the water coming from the kitchen sink faucet.

"What are you doing?!" She yelled as she was drawn back out.

"You don't want to be all sticky, do you?" Kirk asked. This time, it was Rabeeder's turn to sigh.

There was a brief pause. However, it was soon broken when Kirk looked at the clock.

"Woah," he said, "It's later than I thought, I need to get going," he then squished Rabeeder into her ball form and flicked her away. He'd deal with her later.

"Hey, wait!" Rabeeder yelled. But it was too late. In a flash, Kirk had changed his outfit, grabbed his things, put on his jacket, and headed out the door, making sure it was locked behind him. It was a temperate day outside, if a bit chilly. His proximity to his school meant he never had to take the bus. But the only sounds that joined him was the rustling of leaves and the gentle whoosh of the wind. Compared with how that morning had been, the walk to his high school was refreshingly quiet and free of ditzy voices-

"Hey, Kirk! There you are!"

-Until just then. Another girly voice soon broke the silence. Kirk turned to see the girl who sat to his right during Math class, the class he had right before lunch. Sure, they'd studied together a few times, but she often used that as an excuse to strike up conversation. Kirk grumbled in return. The girl giggled, as this was his usual response, "You've never been a morning person, have you?" She quipped, "But you seemed more alert today. Normally you don't even look up. Something wake you up early?"

"You could say that..." Kirk mumbled, a tad irked at being reminded of his predicament. Not that she had to know about it, though.

"We have that quiz today, don't we?" The girl said, fiddling with her wavy blonde hair, "Man, I hope I we do well on it."

"Speak for yourself, lady," Kirk said.

"You could call me by name you know. It's Stacy," The girl replied, "You know, you and I seem to be the only people who walk this way."

_To my eternal chagrin_, Kirk thought inwardly. He did wish there was someone else Stacy would talk to. She was the kind of girl you just couldn't shake no matter what you do. That trait seemed awfully familiar about now...

Kirk's ears somehow held together and he made it to school. The day dragged on at its usual pace and finally he ended up in math class. He was still somewhat distracted and the occasional irritated groan from Stacy right next to him didn't help at all. Out of habit, Kirk reached into his jacket pocket. To his surprise, there seemed to be something inside. Subconciously, Kirk fiddled with the object in an attempt to regain his concentration. It worked for a bit and he was finally getting into the groove of things when suddenly-

"Ahhhn! You coy beast!" A sultry and all-too-familiar voice said softly from his pocket. Now that he thought about it, what he was fondling in his pocket seemed awfully...spherical...and about the right size, too. With a jolt, Kirk wrenched his hand out of his pocket, leaving the object behind. How?! How had that blasted Bakugan followed him here! Why was she doing this and WHY did she have to talk like that?! All of these questions were simmering in his brain until he looked up and realized that a good portion of the class was looking at him from his sudden movement.

"You...okay?" Stacy asked.

Kirk quickly cleared his throat and regained his composure, "A...chill" he finally stuttered, "I just had a bit of a chill." Fortunately, the class accepted this excuse and continued working. Unfortunately for Kirk, however, the surprise had thrown off his concentration worse than it had been before and he struggled his way through the rest of the test. Soon enough, it was over and Kirk tossed his bag onto his shoulder and headed quickly towards the door.

"What's wrong?" Stacy asked as he got up, "Usually you finish those tests really fast. Did something happen?" But Kirk had already left. Practically running, Kirk dashed outside of school and went over to a nearby tree, hand stuffed tightly in his pocket. He looked around to see if anyone was watching, then pulled out the contents of his pocket. Yup, it was Rabeeder.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Kirk asked, exasperated.

"What?" The bakugan responded in an equal tone as she unfolded, "I should be asking YOU! You were the one who was groping me for, like, twenty minutes!"

"I was not...sigh...Look, why are you here?" Kirk said, calming himself down as it was clearly pointless to argue with plastic.

"You never listened to what I had to say, so I HAD to follow you!" Rabeeder insisted, jumping up and down in Kirk's hand.

"Well?" Kirk said.

"Well what?"

"What do you need to say?"

"Huh?! Oh-" Rabeeder said, suddenly flustered, "Well... I... need a partner."

"Partner?"

"Yes! Someone who's really good at playing who will play lots and lots of games against lots and lots of people!"

"Look here, I just dabble in the game," Kirk replied as he sat down, "I don't take it too seriously."

"Your strategy yesterday says otherwise," Rabeeder said in a somewhat condescending tone, "I saw you yesterday and coming up with a plan like that means its more than a hobby,"

"That just means I found one good plan," Kirk said.

"Oh yeah?!" Rabeeder called. She then leapt from Kirk's hand and landed in his bag.

"What are you doing in there?!" Kirk complained as Rabeeder rooted around in his school things. Soon, she came out again, this time loaded down with a menagerie of both bakugan and cards.

"Then..." She grunted under the weight, "Why... do you carry...these everywhere...huh?!" No longer able to hold them, Rabeeder dropped Kirk's collection all over the ground.

"Ah! Don't do that!" Kirk said as he frantically scooped up each piece and dropped them into his bag. He zipped it up then slumped down again, "Okay, so maybe it's a little more than a hobby, but does that mean you think I'd help you?"

"Of course!" Rabeeder said optimistically, "Now, all we have to do is play, play, play! And after we're done with that, I can finally go home!"

"You mean you'd leave?" Kirk said.

"Yeah!" Rabeeder replied, "So, it's a deal! Believe me, you won't regret this! Let's go find someone to fight ASAP!!"

"Wait, I never agreed to anything!" Kirk blurted.

"See you later!" Rabeeder said, obviously ignoring him as she curled up and jumped into Kirk's bag.

Kirk sighed. What had he gotten himself into? Well, if what Rabeeder had said was right, he'd be rid of her soon enough. Kirk grabbed his backpack, stood up, and walked back to class. Not like there was anything he could do about it, now.


	2. Chapter 2:Scatterbrained Visitor, Part 2

Chapter 2:

"Bored, bored, BORED!!" Rabeeder complained as she hopped on Kirk's shoulder. School had ended and Kirk was walking home, "I've been waiting a whole day and you still haven't gotten into a battle with anyone! How're we gonna get the job done if you won't fight?!"

"Calm down, okay?" Kirk said, "I told you already I don't have time to go play with many people." At this, Rabeeder quieted down, but was clearly still irritated as she muttered to herself and shifted around. Kirk took a deep breath and kept walking. Hopefully his walk back could be more peaceful than this morning.

"Hey, you! Hold it right there!!"

-Or not. Kirk turned around to see the fat kid from the day before. However, next to him was a tall, thin, glasses-wearing man who was easily college age.

"What do you want?" Kirk grumbled as he looked at the two.

"I heard you beat up my little brother at a game yesterday!" The older kid said, pointing accusingly.

"Yeah, you tell 'em, Steve!" The little kid quipped.

"I beat him fair and square, if that's what you mean." Kirk said.

"That's not the point!" The older one said, "You made him give back a Bakugan HE'D won fair and square!"

"You're not supposed to take any of the loser's Bakugan, ya know," Kirk said.

"Shut up!" Steve said, "Real players play by these rules! Besides, if they don't, how am I supposed to complete my collection?!"

"Ha?" Kirk said, dumbstruck, "Complete what?"

"My collection!" Steve said in a rush of brilliance, "Find every Bakugan! Get them in every color! Get all the cards! Make 'em mine, mine, MINE!!"

"Big bro pays me to get more bakugan for him!" The fat one said.

"Just go buy them," Kirk retorted.

"No, no no!" Steve yelled immaturely, "A ton of them are out of print and they're expensive, this is the best way to get them!"

"If you're a greedy slob, that is..." Kirk muttered.

Steve heard him though, and growled, "That's it, we're brawling!" He ripped a bunch of Bakugan out of his pocket, "We'll see who's right!"

Kirk paused, but Rabeeder perked up, whispering in his ear: "This is great, partner! We should fight this guy!"

"Wha? Are you kidding me?" Kirk replied, "This guy probably lives in his parent's basement. Besides, if you're my Bakugan, shouldn't you be calling me "Master"?"

"Why would I do that?" Rabeeder asked.

Kirk sighed, realizing his position in this matter. "Fine," he said, "But, if I win, you go and tell all the kids that they need to stop playing by those "keepsie" rules."

"Fine!" Steve said, "But, uh... If I win..." Steve glanced around for a bit, then noticed Rabeeder on Kirk's shoulder, "If I win, I get that wierd, talking bakugan you've got on your shoulder!"

"Wha?" Rabeeder said.

"Fine with me," Kirk said without a moment's hesitation.

"WHAAA?!" Rabeeder yelled, "How could you say that, partner?" Rabeeder whined.

"Relax, it'll be fine," Kirk said. True, it was like a win/win situation for him; either he put a bad practice to rest or got rid of the annoying thing on his shoulder.

Rabeeder slumped, "Alright," she said, perking up, "Now I'll show you how to open the field."

"Open the field?' Kirk asked, "Shouldn't we just find a table?"

"No, no! This is WAY cooler!" Rabeeder said, "Now, reach into your pocket." Reluctantly, Kirk complied and reached into the pocket he'd originally found Rabeeder in. Inside of it was a pair of cards, one gate card and an ability card, "Now, hold up the gate card and say "Field Open!!" Rabeeder said.

Feeling ridiculous, Kirk held the card aloft. Steve and his brother watched, equally perplexed.

"FIELD OPEN!" Kirk said as a gray mercedes passed by on the street next to them. Suddenly, a blinding light appeared around the three people. In the moment, Kirk turned and looked at the mercedes. While it didn't seem like the driver noticed, the car seemed to be slowing down...

And then it was gone. Kirk looked around as the entire world around him had been replaced with what looked like a nightmare. He was standing on a perfectly flan plane colored black and red. Around him, blobby, mixed colors clouded up the sky. Across from him stood the two brothers, who seemed far more enmored with their surroundings.

"Could this..." Steve said, trembling, "Could this be...the field I've heard so much about?!" Suddenly, he dropped to the ground, "Ah! This is amazing!" He said as he rubbed his cheek against the ground. Kirk felt his eye twitch. Steve rose to his feet, then glared with a sinister smile at his opponents, "Heh," He chuckled, "All I have to do is win this and I can do this as much as I want! Wait for me, My precious bakugan!" He said flirtatiously.

Kirk felt a chill run through his spine. "Partner," Rabeeder said, "He's scaring me!" Kirk nodded in agreement, "W-well," Rabeeder finally stuttered, "If we're gonna beat this guy, you gotta play this the right way. First, you take a gate card and-"

"Oh, I know this part!" Steve said. In a swift motion, he took a gate card in his hand and cast it forward, "Gate Card: Set!" He yelled. The card landed perfectly, then suddenly expanded to several times its normal size. "Yes!" Steve said, "It's just like they said it was online!"

Kirk and Rabeeder slumped again. Finally, Kirk drew a gate card from his hand and flung it forward, "Gate Card: Set!" And the game was on.

"Out of kindness, I'll let you go first," Steve said, positively ecstatic.

"You mean the rules say I HAVE to go first, being the youngest," Kirk said. However, his insult just seemed to bounce off of Steve as was just too excited. Kirk sighed. Now he needed to feel out his opponent a little bit. Which of his bakugan would-

"PICK MEEEEEEEE!!" A booming voice said next to him. "Pick me, pick me, pick me!" Kirk turned to see Rabeeder eagerly hopping up and down on Kirk's shoulder. Kirk shrugged. Fine with him; this way, he could feel out his opponent and find out what his new 'partner' was capable of.

"Fine," Kirk said, plucking Rabeeder from his shoulder, "What do I do now?"

"Yay!" Rabeeder said, "First you throw me and say "Bakugan Brawl" Then "Rabeeder Stand"!" With this, Rabeeder curled into a ball.

Kirk tilted his head. Well, he'd better get started. Better off pitching Rabeeder to his own gate card further away. Kirk wound up and threw.

"Bakugan Brawl!" Rabeeder flew through the air, bounced, and landed on Kirk's gate card, "Rabeeder, stand!" And Rabeeder popped open. However, that wasn't the end. Out from the Bakugan erupted a burst of brown light and a large creature formed before him. Well, creature in the sense of a pair of large arms coming from a round, orange body with what appeared to be a gold skirt and no legs. However, where a head would have been, there was instead the head, arms, and torso of what appeared to be a blue woman with black hair wearing a white dress and a gold crown with a large, golden ring looped behind her.

Haos/Subterra Rabeeder. 700g's

_700?_ Kirk thought. This Bakugan was more powerful than he'd ever seen! However, it didn't match with his strategy too well. This was going to be difficult...

"Yes! I'm free!" Rabeeder said, stretching all four of her arms, big and small, "Now," she said as she loomed over an awe-struck Steve, "Now, let's have some fun with this! Petrification!" And Rabeeder made a grand and threatening gesture as she prepared her attack. However, nothing happened. "Huh? What's wrong with my attacks?" Rabeeder said.

"I guess you need to get into a battle, first," Kirk said.

"Hmpf, that's boring..." Rabeeder pouted, crossing her arms. Kirk grumbled at Rabeeder's attention span. However, Steve had a different look about him, "Hmm?" Rabeeder said.

"Magnificent!" Steve said, his eyes sparkling, "This is the Bakugan I get to look forward to? It's so powerful! And it looks so hot!" Rabeeder recoiled, Taken aback by Steve's behavior, "What's wrong, my lovely?" Steve asked.

"I... I don't want you talking that way to me!" Rabeeder yelled fearfully, covering herself and turning away.

"Hmf?" Steve said, still grinning, "Still, parting is such sweet sorrow, because it's time for you to go somewhere else?" Kirk and Rabeeder barely had time to react when Steve pulled out his red ability card, "Ability Card Activate: Magnetic Action!" The card in his hand glowed and the area around Steve's card began to rumble and shake. It was weak at first, but quickly got stronger and stronger. Rabeeder found herself slipping towards Steve's card. As much as she tried to claw and scrape and resist, she couldn't break away and was flung onto the appropriate position on Steve's card. Kirk growled. Already things weren't going his way, because Steve would have an advantage on his own card. As Kirk tried to think of something, Rabeeder suddenly started bawling.

"Wha...what's wrong?" Kirk said.

"I don't wanna be on his gate card!" She cried, "I don't know where it's been but I have a sneaking suspicion where that creepy guy kept it and that just makes it worse! I feel so violated!"

Kirk could only grumble in response.

"Heh," Steve said, happy with his work, "The person who goes first, messes up first! Now it's my turn. Time to take out my most powerful Bakugan!" Steve pulled out a red sphere and gave it a quick kiss, "Bakugan Brawl!" he yelled as he threw it. It flew through the air and landed near Rabeeder, who still didn't want anything to do with him or his card, "Warius, Stand!!" Steve said. His Warius popped open on the card and was enveloped in red light. From it a tall, red, muscular armored warrior wielding a huge club appeared before Rabeeder.

Pyrus Warius: 670g's

670 was a mighty number as well, but Kirk wasn't too worried. He still had the lead, and not a lot of ability cards could catch up with him if he used his blue ability card. But there was still the gate card to worry about.

"Ha! So the plastic ones DO work here! Gate Card, Open!!" Steve yelled. This time, the gate card glowed a red color, filled with energy. A burst of heat came from the card that was so intense it warped the surrounding light. Small embers also started to come from the card and somehow the sound of flowing lava could be heard. Rabeeder grunted and shielded her face from the embers. Her opponent, on the other hand, roared with delight as the heat invigorated him. It was Volcanic Lake, a Pyrus gate Card. Much to Kirk's chagrin, it did little to help Rabeeder.

Warius 670 + 200 = 870

Rabeeder 700 + 110 = 810

"Ha!' Steve said. Kirk could only growl, as no matter which bonus he'd chosen, his choice of blue ability card wouldn't let him catch up.

"Sorry, Rabeeder," Kirk said.

"Whadda you mean 'Sorry'?! What's happening?!" Rabeeder said as she still tried to shield herself from the heat, not seeing the incoming club. With a loud thud, Steve's Warius plunged its club into Rabeeder's stomach with an upward swing. Rabeeder tried to scream, but all the wind was knocked out of her and she was cast into the air. Once she passed out of the gate card, she reverted to her miniscule spherical shape. Kirk dashed forward and caught her. With a victorious roar, Warius also disappeared and flew back to Steve's hand. The gate card also shrank down and lifted up, flying up and floating as a glowing, red icon indicating Steve's victory. Steve grinned.

"You okay?" Kirk asked.

"Ow..." Rabeeder groaned, "That...hurt...Why?... why didn't you do anything?"

"There was nothing I could do," Kirk said.

"Wha?!" Rabeeder said angrily, obviously fuming, "Whadda you mean?! We're supposed to be partners. PARTNERS! As in helping each other out." She jumped up and bounced in Kirk's hand.

"Relax," Kirk said, "We're not out of this yet." He set Rabeeder down and turned to Steve, "It's my turn," Kirk looked at the other two bakugan he'd chosen, both Haos of course. He picked one and cast it towards the only remaining Gate Card: his. "Bakugan Brawl! Monarus Stand!" This time, as the Bakugan opened, it revealed a feminine, gray and gold fairy-like creature with butterfly wings. It lifted up and flitted above the card.

Haos Monarus: 450g's.

"Hmf!" Steve said, "I'll see you head-on! Bakugan Brawl!" This time, a black bakugan flew from his hand and landed before Monarus, "Gargonoid, Stand!" The air glowed a sickly black and another winged beast appeared. In stark contrast to the beauty and elegance of Monarus, this Bakugan had black bat wings, a gnarled, twisted face with sinister teeth and horns, and an overall beastly appearance. It was also quite larger than Monarus and loomed over it.

Darkus Gargonoid, 540g's.

"Gate Card: Open!" Kirk said. The card glowed and the field was enveloped in a column of light. Both bakugan bathed in it, but Monarus flapped its wings and soaked in more of the light energy. It was Light Portal, a Haos gate card.

Haos Monarus 450 +110 = 560

Darkus Gargonoid 540 + 60 = 600

Kirk grinned. This match was much more within his reach now. However, Steve saw him and acted quickly, "Ability Card activate!" Steve said, "Darkfire Color Shift! Give Gargonoid the special bonus!" Gargonoid was bathed in red and black energy. It roared in satiation as it gorged on the energy it was given.

Darkus Gargonoid 600 +110 = 710.

"Ha!" Steve said, "All gate cards have a special, highlighted bonus on them. Darkfire Color Shift is a card that lets me take advantage of that. Now I'm 150 points ahead of you and there isn't a blue card that could save you now!"

However, Kirk's grin hadn't faded, "This one can," he said, "Ability Card Activate: Heavy Hand!" Kirk held aloft his blue ability card and it started to glow, "This card usually only gives a bonus of +100, but against a Darkus bakugan like yours, it gives triple!" As he said it, three flares of light erupted from the card and flew towards Monarus. Two of them hit each of its wings and the third landed square on its back. And then Monarus began to grow. It grew bigger and bigger until it was a giant compared to Gargonoid. Gargonoid, confident before, now reeled back in terror as Monarus raised its hand.

Haos Monarus: 560 + 300 = 860

"Hey, partner, Why didn't you do that for me?!" Rabeeder whined.

"Hey, that card wouldn't have given you a big enough bonus to catch up, okay?" Kirk replied.

And the mighty fairy fist came crashing down, crushing the gargoyle into the ground with a crunch in a cloud of dust. As the dust settled, both Bakugan returned to their respective owners. The gate card flew to Kirk's side and floated there with a white glow. They were now tied.

Perfect. Now Kirk could use his signature strategy to pull out a win in a single turn. Taking his Duck and Win card, he cast it out against his opponent's card.

"Gate Card: Set!"

Quickly, Kirk took his final bakugan and cast it into the fray, "Bakugan Brawl! Saurus, Stand!" He threw it onto his gate card in anticipation. From the bakugan came what appeared to be a football player in full white and yellow regalia, but it had clawed feet and hands and its head was that of a horned dinosaur. It roared fiercly.

Haos Saurus: 330g's

"Hey, bro," the fat kid said, "That's-"

"Shut up, I know what I'm doing," Steve grinned as he took his final Bakugan in his hands, another Darkus one. However, he simply tossed it up and down in his hand, "Before I do anything, Let me guess. You played 'Duck and Win" didn't you?" Kirk didn't answer or twitch, but a bead of sweat ran visibly down his cheek. "You plan on winning this turn by comboing it with Haos 2, right?" Steve continued, then laughed, "Well then, let's see how you handle this! Bakugan Brawl!" And the bakugan left his hand, "Serpenoid Stand!" The bakugan crashed onto Kirk's gate card and opened to reveal a long, black snake with a purple diamond pattern on its back. It hissed violently and purple venom dripped from its tongue. However, it was considerably smaller than Saurus

Darkus Serpenoid: 200 g's.

_200!?!_ Kirk finally lost his composure and finally showed what Steve had expected earlier, a twinge of fear, "Dang it..." Kirk said as the Gate card opened up, "Dang it," he said again as the glow appeared and Serpenoid lowered its body, "DANG IT!" he said as a mysterious wall of force flew over Serpenoid to hit his Saurus directly in the chest, knocking it clear off of the card. Saurus dropped at his feet, defeated. A second tally appeared next to Steve.

"Ha!" Steve said, "I knew it! I had my little brother tell me everything you did when you fought him and prepared myself for it! I'll defeat all of your strategies," he then laughed manaically, "What is this?" he roared, "I've never felt so excited in my whole life! It feels incredible!" He then grinned at Kirk with a fiendish look, "But I'm not done yet! Ability Card Activate!" he said. He then took his green card and dropped it at his feet. It slipped into the ground and vanished. "That was the Darkus 2 card, the counterpart to your Haos 2. Since I won with a Darkus Bakugan, now you'll only get the best bonus from your card only if I feel like it!" and he laughed again. Kirk shuddered a bit as a swore he saw a visible red aura around his enemy.

Kirk growled and looked down, clenching his fist. It was the top of the fourth round and his bakugan would all be playable again due to the rules. "Fine!" he said, "Then let's get this over with!" He dashed forward, grabbed his fallen Saurus and cast it back into the fray, "Bakugan Brawl! Saurus, Stand!"

Haos Saurus 330g's

"Heh, throwing in the towel? Then let's finish this! Bakugan Brawl! Gargonoid, Stand!" The black beast returned to face its adversary, "Still a big mistake, idiot!" Steve said, "This is Gargonoid's card, it gets a double bonus from being on it!"

Haos Saurus 330 + 90 = 420

Darkus Gargonoid 540 + 300 = 840.

"That doesn't matter!" Kirk said, "Ability Card Activate! Haos 2! The point difference lets me steal one of your won gate cards!" As Gargonoid's flying kick came crashing down onto Saurus, one of Steve's icons left him and flew across the field to Kirk's side before Saurus hit the ground. The bakugan returned and now both players had two wins to them.

Steve chuckled, "Hmm, you may have two cards now, but that was just the desperate act of a desperate man. You have nothing left!"

Kirk growled. As much as he hated Steve's words, he was right. Kirk's act of desperation had only bought him a little time. He didn't know what to do. He didn't have any ideas, any plans, or much of anything. All he had left was his Gold card and Red card... Then he paused and remembered the cards Rabeeder had told him to get. He raised his hand to look at them. As luck would have it, they were Rabeeder's gold card and a Red ability card. But what did they do. Kirk read them over...and then his eyes went wide.

"Gate Card: Set!" as the players cast their final cards into the fray.

"Alright," Kirk said suddenly grabbing Rabeeder from his shoulder.

"Wha?!" Rabeeder said as she was squished into her ball form.

"Bakugan Brawl" Kirk yelled in a grand gesture as he cast Rabeeder forward. However, nothing happened. Nothing left his hand and nothing landed on the gate card. There was an awkward pause. Then, Kirk felt something trembling on his thumb. He looked at his hand to see Rabeeder having opened herself up and was now clinging desperately to him, "Hey! Let go!" Kirk said.

"Nooo!" Rabeeder yelled, "It's too scary, I'm just gonna get hurt again. I don't wanna do this no more!!"

"Come on, you blockhead!" Kirk said as he flicked his hand to try to get her to let go, "Get in there!"

"You can't make me!" Rabeeder yelled as Kirk's hands were now being flung in full circles, "I don't wanna look at that guy's face again!"

"Work with me here, I have a plan!" Kirk said as he wrenched Rabeeder from his thumb, "Now go get 'em!" He shouted as he finally pitched Rabeeder into the air.

"Nooooo!" Rabeeder yelled, visible tears streaming from her plastic form. She landed on the gate card and reappeared, but she was cringing this time.

"Well, my angel doth returneth," Steve said as he looked at Rabeeder, "Don't worry, we'll be together, soon." he took a familiar red ball, wound up, and threw it, "Bakugan, Brawl!" Rabeeder cringed as the ball approached. However, she opened one eye just long enough to see the ball sail over her shoulder and onto Steve's gate card behind her. The powerful Warius appeared again, but this time its back was facing her as it wasn't on the same card, "There we go!" Steve said, "No you have no choice but to fight me on my own card!" He laughed, but Kirk didn't react, "So, which will it be? Will you move my angel so she can be clobbered again or will Warius pin up your precious butterfly in his collection?!"

"Kirk..." Rabeeder said meekly, "I really don't wanna go with this guy."

"You blockhead," Kirk said. However, much to Rabeeder's surprise, he was smiling, "I said I had a plan, didn't I? Well, here we go!" Though he didn't seem to care how the match turned out at first, Kirk had found himself get really involved in the game, as if some new feeling had emerged in him. He wanted to win; no matter what, he wanted to actually WIN against this jerk! Kirk now threw his last Bakugan into the fray. Monarus floated through the air and landed... on Steve's gate card right against the far more powerful Warius.

"Oh, great plan!" Steve said, applauding as Kirk's Monarus manifested, "A great plan for a worm like you, just handing me the win! Gate Card o-"

"Not so fast!" Kirk said, "Ability Card: Activate!" And Kirk held aloft his final card as it shone with a brilliant red light, "Let's do it, Rabeeder!"

Suddenly, Rabeeder was aglow with power and she, too, smiled. "Right-o!" She said.

"Huh?!" Steve said as Rabeeder clasped her larger hands together. As she drew them apart, she revealed what appeared to be long, white strands of energy. She then lashed out with these strands, ensnared Warius in them and began to pull. Warius growled and tried to resist, grabbing at the tendril that had lashed itself around his neck, but it was to no avail, "What's... happening?!" Steve yelled.

"This card is called 'Light Tendrils'," Kirk replied, "It's a Rabeeder special. After I stand a Haos bakugan, I can choose any standing bakugan and move it to where I want. And I picked... your Warius!" Kirk pointed triumphantly as Rabeeder cast Warius's body forward to send it crashing onto the card that Rabeeder was on, "Gate Card, Open!" In a glow of light, the energy of the Rabeeder card filled the air. It boasted a hefty 200 Haos bonus.

"You fool!' Steve said, "Don't forget I can force you to take the special bonus instead!"

"You mean the highlighted bonus of 170 that still gets doubled?" Kirk retorted, "That doesn't make a difference!"

Haos/Subterra Rabeeder: 700 + 340 =1040

Pyrus Warius: 670 + 100 = 770

"No, NO!" Steve said, grabbing his head and falling to his knees.

"Yes!" Kirk said, "Now, Rabeeder! Finish it!"

Now with a triumphant expression, Rabeeder looked at the Warius that was still trying to stand up. The air around her crackled with energy and her long, black hair swirled in the stream of aether. She gestured with all four arms, big and small and a circle of energy appeared under Warius. With a final gesture, She uttered her command:

"PETRIFICATION!"

The energy blazed and Warius tried to roar, but was instantly cut off as he was imprisoned within a huge chunk of crystal. Kirk and Steve both watched in awe as Rabeeder slowly raised one of her small hands. With a flick, she snapped her fingers. In instantaneous response, the crystal shattered and pieces of it, along with pieces of Warius, flew everywhere.

Steve watched on in terror, then screamed as his powerful red aura burst away from. His Warius, now back in ball form, slowly drifted towards the ground, "No..." he muttered weakly, "How could I lose?... how could I..."

And Steve's Warius struck the pavement of the sidewalk. Kirk quickly looked around. Somehow they'd returned to where they'd opened the gate and the Mercedes he'd seen before reanimated and drove off. Steve lay in a heap on the ground.

"Big bro, big bro!" The fat kid said, trying to rouse his brother. He then turned to Kirk, looking like he was about to cry, "What did you do to my big bro?!" he yelled.

Worried, Kirk, turned up his hands. "I ... I didn't..."

"That's enough," Steve grumbled as he sat up, holding his head. He picked up his Warius with his other hand.

"You remember our deal, right?" Kirk said as Steve stood up.

"Yeah, yeah..." Steve said in a weak, defeated voice, "Come on, let's go home," he put his hand on his brother's shoulder and began to shuffle away with him.

"Are you okay, Bro? What's wrong?" The fat kid said as the two left. Kirk sighed as he watched them leave.

"Great job partner!" Rabeeder said as she popped onto Kirk's shoulder, "I knew you could do it! I had faith in you the whole time!"

"It didn't seem that way," Kirk scoffed. He then looked at the two brothers, "Hey... is he gonna be alright?" he gestured towards Steve as he left.

"Him?" Rabeeder said. Oddly, there was a pause, "Yeah he'll be fine," Rabeeder finally said, "He must have let the adrenaline get to him!" She then laughed nervously. However, Kirk didn't laugh. Then again, he wasn't worried. it wasn't as if he'd sent Steve's soul to some kind of Shadow Realm, or something, so he didn't worry about it. Kirk then looked around. The Mercedes from before was still at a traffic light further down. He'd been in the gate for at least five minutes, though.

"Hey, how come it seems like nothing moved while we were playing?" he asked.

"Oh, that's just an effect of the field," Rabeeder said, "Time slows down to a crawl out here so you can fight and not lose any time!"

"Well that's pretty convenient, I guess..." Kirk replied.

"Right!" Rabeeder said, "So let's get out there, partner, and fight, fight fight!"

"You can call me by name, you know," Kirk said, "It's 'Kirk'."

"Kirk?" Rabeeder replied, "Well then, Kirk, Here's to a beautiful partnership!"


	3. Chapter 3: A Bad Wind Blows

Chapter 3

"Hah! You lose again, dweeb!" A large boy said as he picked up his Bakugan from the table in the park. He was looming over a smaller child who looked like he was on the verge of tears, "And that means I get your lunch money again! You'd better bring it, or else! Don't forget you lost!" He crossed his arms, his two equally large friends chuckling behind him.

The kid sniffed, "Okay..." he said weakly. collecting his things.

"You'd better!" the belligerent one said. He then turned around and began walking away from the kid.

"Hey, I can't believe you came up with such a great idea!" One of his friends said.

"Yeah," The player replied, "That kid sucks so bad I can beat him every time!" The three of them laughed.

The small kid who had just lost hung his head low and continued to sniff as tears welled up in his eyes. Sure, he lost alot; he always lost. But he didn't know why. He'd tried a bunch of different strategies, but the bigger kid had better Bakugan and cards and so would always beat him. All the kid could do was sit there, staring at his meager collection.

Kir was on his way home when Rabeeder burst from his pocket without warning.

"This smell..." She said, "It's the smell of Bakugan!"

"You can smell Bakugan?" Kirk asked, "Or, more importantly, you have a _nose_ when you're like that?"

"Of course, silly!" Rabeeder said, "It's coming from over there!" She turned towards the park where the little kid was still sitting, "Come on! Let's go fight him!"

Kirk looked at the kid, looked around, then began to approach.

"Woo-hoo!" Rabeeder said as she followed, "Let's fight!"

"We're not fighting anyone," Kirk said, grabbing Rabeeder. He squished her into ball form and shoved her into his pocket, "You shut up and stay put. I'll handle this." Keeping his hand in his pocket to restrain his 'partner', Kirk walked up and sat down next to the kid, "What happened?" he asked.

"Well...these kids...they...they beat me at Bakugan every day..." He said, being careful to leave out the stolen lunch money part.

"Uh..." he said, "Well, let me see your cards, maybe I can make it better..." The kid said nothing, merely emptying his pockets and setting out a bunch of blue and green bakugan. Kirk looked at his choices of bakugan and cards and felt himself recoil slightly. This kid had made a Ventus/Aquos combination, "Geez, why do you have these two mixed together?" he said, "They're really incompatible." The kid sank his head. Kirk, feeling a little bad, picked up the kid's cards, "But, I think I can make it work..." he said to try to recover himself, "Let's see, we should use cards that involve controlling your opponent's bakugan, like Shun's Launcher here," he said pulling out a card that had been based off of the original brawlers, "Then is we use your Aquos Skyress on its own card and combine it with Flowing Waters..."

This continued for a few minutes of strategizing until finally they'd slapped a deck together. It wasn't pretty, but it was much better than what the kid had before. All throughout this, the kid who seemed so dejected before was feeling more confident; he hadn't thought of a lot of these strategies before.

"Well, there ya go," Kirk said as he slapped the finished deck down onto the table, "This should help you a bit...uh..."

"Jimmy," the kid said.

"Jimmy, right," Kirk said, "Give it a shot, alright?" he said as he turned and walked away. Jimmy grabbed his stuff and started running home; maybe he'd keep his lunch money tomorrow.

Kirk got home and relaxed for a while watching some TV. However not much time passed until his mother returned and sent him out to go grocery shopping. With a grumble, Kirk grabbed his jacket and headed for the nearby supermarket on foot. Soon, he'd done the family shopping and, loaded down with a large paper-bag in each arm, started making the walk back. On the route there was a small alleyway between some restaraunts that he passed by. It was usually harmless enough, but tonight there seemed to be an extra ruckus happening. Kirk first heard what sounded like some guys talking, but there was also the sound of a frightened woman complaining. Kirk peeked down the alley to see what was happening, but it was too dark. Quietly, Kirk walked down the alley to get a better look. There were four guys surrounding a lone girl who was pressed against the wall. One of the guys had drawn a knife.

It was a disgusting event for sure, but Kirk knew he was no hero. He wasn't about to get himself stabbed in a foolish attempt at rescue. Trying to pretend he hadn't seen anything, Kirk took a deep breath and turned to leave when-

"Kirk? Is that you, Kirk?! Help me!" Kirk nearly tripped when he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the alley. He turned his head to see that the one against the mall was Stacy. But worse were the four people accosting her. Wearing disheveled clothing, they all had mean, twisted faces covered in young stubble. They also looked quite angry that they were interrupted.

"Stacy?" Kirk asked, "What the heck are you doing in a seedy place like this?" he asked.

"Well..." Stacy said nervously, "These guys said they'd show me a good time and..."

"And you went with them?" Kirk said, "That was an incredibly stupid thing to do."

"Yeah, I do feel pretty dumb about now," Stacy said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. The entire time this was going on, the four thugs were panning their gazes between the two, hardly believing that such a nonchalant conversation was happening in a situation like this.

"Well, good luck with that," Kirk said as he turned to leave. As heartless as it seemed, it still wasn't his problem.

"Wha?!" Stacy said, "You're not gonna help me?!"

"Heh," the guy with the knife said, grinning, "Looks like you're still alone," He mused. Stacy cringed.

"No, you idiot!" another said, "He's seen us, he's gonna go get the cops, stop him!" The knife-wielder suddenly lost his grin, then turned and dashed at Kirk.

"KIRK!!" Stacy yelled desperately. Kirk turned around just in time to see the man lunge at him. In fear, Kirk whipped one of the grocery bags in front of him. The knife plunged in and left a huge gash, spilling the groceries save for an impaled plastic bottle of ketchup that dribbled on the ground.

"Hmm," the knife-wielder said, licking the ketchup from his weapon menacingly, "I was hoping to use this knife on something more fun, but I guess I'll cover it in your blood, first!"

Stacy screamed as Kirk dodged the second stab.

As hard as it was to believe, Kirk was scared to death. He needed a weapon. Nothing nearby, maybe something in his pocket? Kirk thrust his hand into his coat pocket, felt something hard, and drew it out. However, it was just a gate card.

The thug looked at the card, then laughed uproariously, "What're you gonna do with that, kid?!" he cackled, "Play it in defense mode?!" He then lunged forward again. To Kirk, it seemed like everything had gone into slow motion. The knife, gleaming red, headed towards him. Again it felt like he was out of ideas.

Out of ideas? Then Deja-vu struck him. With a quick glance, Kirk noticed that the Gate card was again Rabeeder's gate card. It was another desperate act, but just as fast as the knife was heading for him, Kirk shut his eyes and whipped up the card.

"Field Open!!" Kirk yelled as the knife came dangerously close. However, he didn't feel the knife plunge in. No pain, no blood, no screaming. Slowly, Kirk opened his eyes. There he was on the battle field, all alone. Stacy wasn't there, the thugs weren't there, and most importantly, the knife wasn't there. Now that he was safe, Kirk felt his legs weaken and collapse. But he knew he wasn't out of the woods, yet. There was still the problem of the thugs. Because time had been stopped outside his dimensional rip, they'd still be waiting for him when he closed it. If the field wore off how would he handle them? He couldn't stay here forever.

Then he remembered the Mercedes from the first time he'd opened the field. It was in exactly the same spot as when he'd left it. Kirk stood up. It was a gamble, but it was the only thing he had left. He took a step to the left and then a step forward, so he would be slightly behind the thug. Kirk brought up his right arm and brought it in front of his face. Taking a deep breath, Kirk swung his arm back.

"Field close!"

"Augh!" The thug said as Kirk's arm slammed into the back of his neck, its force magnified by the sudden acceleration. His plan had worked; His moving in the Field caused him to appear somewhere else! Kirk quickly followed up his move with a punch to the thug's stomach. The knife went skidding down the alley and the thug collapsed from the surprise attack. Stacy and the three other thugs were stunned. To them, it looked like Kirk had moved with superhuman speed.

Kirk looked at his arm. It throbbed a little, but didn't really hurt. He clenched his fist and grinned. Now THIS was power he could use! Suddenly, he wasn't so frightened.

"Wh...what the heck did ya do ya brat?!" One of the thugs roared as he charged at Kirk. Kirk held up the card again and an instant later appeared underneath the thug, performing an uppercut on his stomach with the force of his whole body, accelerated by the time manipulation. With the wind knocked out of him, thug number two collapsed. Before he knew what hit him, thug number three was down with an overhead blow.

"Kirk!" Kirk heard Stacy's voice over his shoulder. He turned around to see the last thug had put her into a headlock to restrain her.

"I... I dunno what kinda freaky thing youre doing, but you'd better stop!" the thug threatened, "You don't want your little friend here getting hurt, do you?" He cupped his hand around the mouth of Stacy as she hopelessly trembled. However, Kirk simply turned and began approaching, "Stop!" The thug said, "Don't come any closer!" However, his voice was wavering thanks to the sight of his friends being left in a heap. Though Kirk had been scared before, he knew the tables had turned in his favor.

Stacy was petrified. There was no way she could escape the grip of such a powerful man. She wanted help but at the same time she wanted Kirk to stop so the thug wouldn't hurt her. Stacy closed her eyes.

"No! What. what're you..." She heard the thug said, but suddenly he stopped. She felt him go limp and loosen his grip on her. She opened her eyes and saw that Kirk had rapidly moved again and taken this thug out with a poetic and forceful Vulcan Neck Pinch. She watched as the thug collapsed to the ground. She felt so weak from fear that she, too, fell to her knees, panting. She knew that the ordeal could have ended much worse.

"You okay?" She heard a comforting voice say. Stacy opened her eyes to see Kirk squatting down to eye level with her, that usual stoic expression meeting her gaze. Suddenly, Stacy lunged forward and embraced Kirk, knocking him over. "Ow!" Kirk said as his rear his the concrete.

"I was so scared!" She sobbed, "Kirk! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kirk said, pushing Stacy off, "It's no big deal. Agh, I need to get home or mom will worry," he rubbed the back of his head, turned, and headed back to where his grocery bags were.

At first, Stacy simply sat there and watched. Then, she heard a moan. She looked around to see all of the thugs were groaning in pain from the assault they'd just endured. Though she still felt weak in the knees, the urge to get away struck and she got up and ran after Kirk, "Don't leave me here!" She said.

"Let's just take these..." Kirk said as he picked up one of the bags. However, the tear from the knife was still there and spilled the groceries on the ground. At first, Stacy and Kirk just stood there looking at them.

"Erm... want some help?" Stacy finally said.

"Please..." Kirk sighed.

Soon, they'd scooped up the groceries and were on their way to Kirk's house. It'd been quiet most of the way, with only the sounds of crickets and the occasional passing car, but finally Stacy spoke up.

"Hey, how'd you do that anyway?" She asked.

"Do what?" Kirk asked.

"You know," Stacy replied, and she shifted her upper body back and forth in a rapid fashion to indicate the apparent super speed he'd shown off earlier.

"Eh, it's complicated," Kirk said, not wanting to tell someone his age that he played Bakugan.

"It's okay, you can trust me," Stacy said reassuringly.

"Okay. The truth is I'm Batman and you have to keep my identity a secret, got it?" Kirk replied with blatant sarcasm.

"Yes sir, Mr. Batman!" Stacy said strictly, making a salute and dropping half the groceries she was carrying in the process.

Kirk was shocked. Had she just taken him seriously? Oh well, what harm could it do?

* * * * *

Jimmy had gotten up bright and early that morning and raced to school. He couldn't wait to finally beat those bullies. He found them hanging around near the back of the school away from everybody else.

"Hey!" He said loudly. The three turned to him and grimaced.

"You're early," the one who'd beaten him yesterday said, "So, you're gonna give me that money, right?" He held out his hand.

Jimmy felt a twinge of fear, as the bully was still far larger than him and had beaten him multiple times. But he had a new strategy at his side. "No Way!" he said, clenching his fists, "I'm gonna beat you this time! And if I win, you gotta give me my money back and promise to never take it again?!"

"What?!" The bully yelled, obviously pissed, "Fine, but if you lose, you're gonna give me all your money for the rest of the year AND your bakugan!"

Jimmy hesitated.

"What's wrong?" One of the bullies said, "Ya chicken?!"

"N...No I'm not!" Jimmy finally cried out. And like that the game was on. Thanks to the strategies he'd been shown, Jimmy was doing fairly well, but quickly things turned around and he wasn't doing so well. Though Jimmy had won two gate cards, he'd used all but one of his ability and gate cards and the bully had won one and was about to take another.

"Heh," the bully said, "You may have gotten me those first couple times, but now I'll prove that you'll always be a loser." He reached down to take up the card when Jimmy suddenly spoke up.

"Hold it!" he said. The bully paused, "I just lost with my Aquos Skyress which means I can play my Flowing Waters card! I can discard my last gate card to add it to my won cards for a total of three! I win!" Jimmy yelled. He let those words sink in, and then the feeling of elation. He'd won. He'd actually won. He looked up with a grin at the bully, but it instantly transformed into a look of fear when he saw the horrible expression he was making.

"Don't think you're so tough!' The angry bully yelled, pushing Jmmy onto the concrete, knocking the wind out of him. Soon, the other bullies were upon him, holding him down and stealing the things from his pockets and backpack. Eventually, one of them mentioned that a teacher might come and the three quickly ran away. Tears in his eyes, Jimmy looked around to find his money gone, his school supplies strewn about, and only two of his bakugan and four of his cards left scattered that the bullies didn't have time to grab. Not even enough for a game. Jimmy never felt so helpless; he'd won the game but the bullies had beaten him up and taken his things anyway. Jimmy curled into a ball and cried. Why? Why did nothing ever work out for him? Why was he so weak.

"Well, well," a tough, growling voice suddenly said, "Look at the weak little boy. You gonna cry for your mommy?" It said. Jimmy felt even worse, but also felt a twinge of anger. Still, he ignored the voice and kept his eyes shut, "Hey," the voice said, "You deaf or something?! I'm talkin' to you..." Finally, Jimmy opened his eyes. However, rather than a person before him, there seemed to be another Bakugan, but not one that he'd ever seen before. It was colored blue and green and looked a bit like a Harpus mold, but it's head seemed a bit...odd as if its hair was made of tentacles. But most surprising was the fact that it talked, "Oh, there you are, wimp!" It said.

"Sh...shut up..." Jimmy said, ducking his head back down again, "Don't make fun of me..."

"Awful lot of spirit for a kid who just got beaten up," The bakugan mocked.

"But what am I supposed to do?" Jimmy asked.

"Doncha wanna get back at them?" The voice said, suddenly much closer. Jimmy opened his eyes only to see the tiny Bakugan now sitting on his knee, face-to-face with him. Jimmy jolted back but it continued talking, "You want revenge, right?" it asked as it subtly began to glow.

"Uh... revenge...?" Jimmy asked nervously as he watched.

"Yes," The bakugan replied, "Don't you want to get back at those that hurt you?!" He said forcefully, exerting a brighter glow than ever. Jimmy was drawn in by the light and he felt himself grow more confident. The bakugan had made fun of him before, but it seemed like it wanted to help him. That, and it was green and blue, the same colors as his favorite Bakugan types.

"Yes," Jimmy said as his eyes glazed over, "Yes, I want to get back at them."

The Bakugan chuckled, pleased with its work enthralling the child, "Good," he said, "Let's go, we'll get back at them later."

"Right," Jimmy said obediently. He then reached down to pick up his other bakugan.

"By the way, I never introduced myself," The bakugan said. _"Call me Hairadee..." _

_Author's Notes: Oooh! has a new challenger entered the ring? I admit this chapter was a bit dark, but I'm not the kind of guy to do anything really bad so don't worry. As for my choice of story, I feel that Naga's gatekeepers have just never gotten the love they deserved, not even a sculpt for any of them! It's why this story puts them into the spotlight. I guarantee a dynamic and interesting story, so please keep reading! Toss me a comment if you want. _

_Join us next time same Bat-time, same Bat-station!  
_


	4. Chapter 4: A Bad Wind Blows, part 2

"Hey, Kirk! Wake up!" Rabeeder said at the earliest crack of dawn. Kirk slowly felt his eyes open. He could tell that it was barely morning and school would not be for hours by the light coming through his window. However, he could barely see this because Rabeeder had taken up most of his field of vision.

"Rabeeder..." he groaned, still half-asleep, "Didn't I tell you to never wake me up by sitting on my face?" He shifted his feet.

"But..." Rabeeder replied, "I'm not sitting on your face. Look at yourself." She motioned towards the small mirror Kirk kept propped against his wall. Kirk turned and looked. In the mirror he could most certainly make out Rabeeder. Still, something seemed off. Next to Rabeeder was a similar-sized object... and roughly the same shape, too...wait a sec. Kirk turned to see that his pillow and sheets were decidedly devoid of a body. In dreadful realization, Kirk looked down. Instead of feet, he saw some small nubs and instead of arms, something more resembling clubs jutted out from either side. Now Kirk knew what the object was in the mirror! It was HIM! He'd been reduced to a bakugan!

"What?!" Kirk yelled, "This isn't possible!" Caught up in the unfolding events, Kirk jumped off of his bed and plunged downwards. However, he now realized that he was a lot smaller than he thought and the fall suddenly seemed like a huge cliff. Almost reflexively, Kirk curled up and landed on his carpet surprisingly lightly. Exhaling, Kirk unfolded and looked up at the mirror. He still couldn't believe his eyes. It WAS him! Or, at least what he'd probably look like as a bakugan, complete with headband and slightly sour, stoic expression, "What the heck is going on?!" he yelled, "Why am I a bakugan?!"

"Don't ask me, cuz I don't know!" Rabeeder said, still on the bed.

"Really?!" Kirk asked.

"I would have told you what happened if I did!" Rabeeder protested.

Kirk turned to face the mirror. Okay, he needed to think this over rationally. "Well, Bakugan like yourself can only go back to normal on an open field, so it might be the opposite for humans if they stay on the field for too long? No, that can't be it; there's stories all over the web of people staying in the field way longer than I have. Surely this would have happened before if that was the case."

"Well," Rabeeder said, "Did you do anything weird yesterday?"

"Wha?!" Kirk asked, "Are you saying this is my fault somehow?"

"I'm just asking!!' Rabeeder retorted shrilly.

"Well," Kirk said, "I went to school, had a brawl at lunch, helped that kid on the way home, then went grocery- wait a minute," Then he remembered. On the way back from grocery shopping, the thugs, helping Stacy by using the field card, "That could be it," he said, "Every time I opened the field, I only took a couple of seconds to get into position before I closed it, then opened it up again pretty soon afterward to repeat it. Maybe it wasn't the time I spent in the field, but the fact that I opened and closed it so much in such rapid succession that did it?"

"Well, I guess the constant shifts in and out of Baku-space could make a guy unstable," Rabeeder said, "Wow, Kirk! You're really good at this!"

However, Kirk was more disappointed, "A side-effect, eh?' he said as he looked at his club-hand, 'Still," he said, turning back to Rabeeder who was still on the bed, "It doesn't matter how brilliant I am or that I figure it out, it doesn't do us any good if I can't change back-"

Almost as if on cue, Kirk felt a charge go through his body. He found his eye-level soon shoot over his bed and over his dresser before coming back to a comfortable, familiar position.

"Hey, you turned back!' Rabeeder said.

"I guess so," Kirk said, rubbing his hair, "Still, because I was asleep, I don't know how long I was stuck like that. Guess I have to use the field card in moderation." In truth, Kirk was quite bummed out over this. He thought he'd finally found a useful way of using the field card to his advantage, but if it could turn him into a Bakugan if he used it too much then it wasn't something he could abuse.

"That's great, but..." Rabeeder said, oddly nervous. Kirk looked down to see that Rabeeder was looking at him, but the area around her "head" seemed to be glowing a bright shade of red. She then quickly turned away from Kirk in a flustered manner, "But, could you put some clothes on?"

Kirk looked at his bed. Apparently his boxer shorts hadn't shrunk along with him during the night.

* * * * *

Kirk was dragging his feet on his way home from school. The shock from this morning had gotten him up way earlier than normal and he was still tired. He'd evaded Stacy again and was passing by the park as usual. On his way, he noticed a group of younger kids. However, one of them seemed awfully familiar. He didn't recognize the three he was talking to, though.

"Hey," one of them, a tall one, said, "I heard you didn't show up at school today. You spend the whole day crying cuz you lost your bakugan?" Two others who were next to him laughed. Kirk looked at the other one who was facing him and noticed it was the kid he'd met the previous day. Kirk sighed and began to walk over to see what he could do. However, the words that came out of Jimmy's mouth would stop him dead in his tracks.

"No, I was taking the time to prepare my revenge. You'll be the one's who'll be crying" Jimmy said in a surprisingly sinister voice. The bullies seemed slightly rattled by the sudden change in tone, but weren't intimidated. Kirk, however, was astonished. Was this really the brittle kid he'd met the day before?

"Hmm, actin' so tough!" The lead bully said, "I guess you didn't learn your lesson last time!" He took a step forward.

However, Jimmy didn't move. He smiled, then laughed, "Then let me teach YOU a lesson!" he said.

The bully growled, "Get 'im!" The three began to charge at the lone boy who remained steadfast. Instead, he drew something from his pocket: a gate card. Kirk's eyes went wide, because he was somehow struck with a realization of what was happening. Dropping his bag, Kirk broke into a dead run. However, he was too far away.

"Field...Open!" Jimmy said as the bullies closed in. Kirk tried to get closer, but everything went into slow motion as the temporal distortion was created and the blinding light erupted forth. Suddenly, everything snapped back into the right speed, but it was too late. Kirk could see the three bullies were now lying on the ground, groaning in pain and unable to move. Oddly enough, they were also...soaking wet?

"Wha..." Kirk said in alarm, for nobody he'd ever brawled with on the field had ever ended up in that kind of state, "What did you just do?!"

Jimmy looked up at him, at first, there was the realization of who he was looking at, but quickly his face turned into a scowl, "You," he said viciously, "I remember you!"

Kirk was taken aback by this, but held his ground. However, he was soon surprised again when something small and round floated out from behind Jimmy.

"Well, well," the bakugan said in a condescending voice, "So, it's another person who made fun of you, isn't it?" he said. Kirk didn't know how to respond, "I remember now, he made fun of your play style...

_"Geez, why do you have these two mixed together? They're really incompatible."_

Kirk looked around as his disembodied voice seemed to come out of thin air. Sure he'd said that, but he wasn't being malicious about it.

"That," the bakugan continued, "and the things he taught you only got you beaten up. He wasn't helping you at all. He was probably laughing the whole way home!"

"Beaten up?" Kirk asked.

"Just shut up!" Jimmy said, covering his ears, "I'm not gonna let you get away with this!" he roared, drawing his field card and pointing accusingly at Kirk, "I'll punish you like I will everyone who makes fun of me!"

Kirk braced himself. He didn't have any time to speak before Jimmy uttered those words, "Field Open!" Kirk shielded his eyes as the field card gushed light in response to Jimmy's command. A flash later Kirk found himself on a different part of the field than he was used to, now being the one dragged into the fray. Kirk looked to see Jimmy and his bakugan on the other side of the field.

"Can't we talk about this?" Kirk asked.

"No!" Jimmy said, "There will be no mercy for evil people!"

"Addaboy," the Bakugan said.

Obviously there was nothing Kirk could do about it now. He hadn't opened the field, so he probably couldn't close it, either. That, and even if he could, Jimmy would probably open in again and then... it would be Baku-Kirk time... As he was thinking this through, Kirk felt something move in his pocket.

"Huh...?" Rabeeder said in a groggy voice as she floated out of the pocket where she'd been napping. However, the sight of the field caught her eyes and she suddenly became alert," Wha, wha, what happened?!" She shrieked, "What are we doing here?! Why didn't I sense you using my card to open the field?!"

"Because I didn't, you blockhead," Kirk quipped.

"Huh?" Rabeeder queried.

"Geh..." Jimmy's bakugan growled, "Oh no, it's Rabeeder. I miscalculated..."

"Wha?!" Rabeeder yelled upon hearing that voice, "Hairadee?! What's he doing here?!"

"You know that bakugan?!" Kirk said in sudden alarm.

Rabeeder shivered from the question, paused, then turned to Kirk, "Of course I do, silly! We're both from Vestroia after all!" she said, followed by that nervous chuckle again, "You didn't think I was the only talking bakugan in the world, right?"

Kirk shrugged, "I guess not..."

Hairadee paused. He'd known Rabeeder to be trouble in the past, but he didn't expect to have to fight her. Still, he'd gotten this far and any chance to throw a wrench in any plans she had was fine by him, "Go for it, kid," he said.

"Hey!" Jimmy yelled across the field, "Don't think you're so tough just 'cuz you have a talking Bakugan, too! I'm gonna make you pay!" And he pulled a card from his hand, "Gate Card, Set!!" And he cast it out onto the field. It glowed a bright blue-green color and expanded to a huge size.

"I guess we're in the thick of it, now," Kirk said, taking a deep breath, "If it's a fight he wants, I guess it's a fight he'll get," He lightly smacked his face with both hands to wake himself up and resolve himself to try his best against this kid because it would be trouble if he lost. But could he bring himself to win? Still, he had no choice.

"Gate card, Set!"

"I'll go first!" Jimmy said, pulling out a blue bakugan, "Let's go, Hairadee!"

"Right!" Hairadee said as he curled up.

Jimmy grabbed Hairadee, drew back his hand, and hurled Hairadee into the air with such speed that it seemed to distort in shape, "Bakugan, Brawl!" he said. Hairadee flew through the air and landed on Jimmy's gate card, "Hairadee, Stand!" And Hairadee popped open. Kirk again covered his eyes as a stream of blue-green light enveloped the field. Streaming out like a falcon came a humanoid form. However, it was twisted and different from anything Kirk had ever seen. Instead of hair, it had tentacles that seemed to resemble dreadlocks, shark-like teeth, and webbed feet. However, it was also complemented by a large pair of feathery wings coming from its back and long talons from its webbed toes. It grinned menacingly at Kirk.

"So," Hairadee said, "Let's see what you got, human of Rabeeder!"

Aquos/Ventus Hairadee, 700g's.

700 g's again, as well as another hybrid. Kirk wasn't surprised, but the sheer difference between Hairadee and Rabeeder struck Kirk. Sure, Rabeeder was anxious to fight, but Hairadee seemed downright maniacal. Clearly this Bakugan had manipulated Jimmy somehow and Kirk needed to stop him. Still, no sense in wasting Rabeeder this early. Kirk reached into his pocket and picked a Bakugan. "Bakugan, Brawl!" Kirk said as he hurled the sphere into the air towards Hairadee. The gray sphere landed in front of the powerful hybrid, "Centipoid, stand!" he bellowed. White light came forth from the unfurled bakugan and revealed a huge, carapace covered monster with many legs and huge, vicious jaws. The giant white centipede roared and clanged its metal jaw blades together.

Haos Centipoid, 500g's.

"Ha!' Hairadee roared, "Is that the best you've got?! Let's get 'em, Jimmy!"

"Gate card, Open!" Jimmy said. The card glowed the same blue-green color as before and revealed Hairadee's gate card. Hairadee chuckled as the energy from the card filled his body.

Aquos/Ventus Hairadee 700 + (200x2) = 1100g's

Haos Centipoid 500 + 80 = 580g's

Centipoid desperately lunged at Hairadee, but Hairadee simply put out one hand and stopped the massive monster cold. He then grinned and drew back his other hand. As Centipoid struggled, Hairadee began to build the two elements together in his hand: A cold wind and drops of water. The water that interacted with the air froze and became ice and Hairadee soon had a miniature blizzard in his hand, "No mercy for the wicked!" Hairadee said in a self-righteous tone. He then thrust his hand forward, "Freezing Wave!" He then thrust out his hands. Centipoid, nay, the entire half of the field was suddenly enveloped in a powerful blizzard. Kirk had to brace himself against the wind and Rabeeder had to cling to Kirk's jacket for dear life in order to resist. The wind was so chilling that Kirk had to tighten his jacket in order to try to keep from getting covered in too much snow.

"I w-w-w-wish you'd br-br-br-brought a P-p-pyrus bakugan..." Rabeeder shivered

After a few seconds, the blizzard died down. Kirk, shivering cold, looked up to see his centipoid was frozen solid from the attack. And above that, Hiaradee was grinning down at him, "Aww," the bakugan said condescendingly, "Did you get a little cold, or are you just terrified to see me?" He then laughed. While not an impressive line, Kirk knew he had to take Hairadee seriously. He couldn't say he'd ever seen such a vicious attack performed before now and part of the shivering could have come from staring such power in the face. Sure, Rabeeder's moves had been impressive, but due to their nature had done little collateral. "Still," Hairadee continued, "I'll show you the fate of anyone who messes with us!" Bringing up a clawed fist, Hairadee dove at Centipoid and smashed the frozen bug over the head, shattering it instantly. Kirk watched as the frozen chunks of his bakugan came to earth before both Bakugan reverted to their smaller forms and left, the gate card forming a marker next to Jimmy. Jimmy smiled.

Kirk's look had become stern and serious. Though the snow on him had already melted and he was now as waterlogged as the bullies from before, Kirk knew he couldn't hold back any longer. This no longer had anything to do with Jimmy, this was about stopping a powerful and dangerous Bakugan and keeping him from causing any more harm.

"Now then," the menacing bakugan said as he returned to Jimmy's side, "Let's finish this, Jimmy. We'll show this guy what it feels like to get hurt."

Jimmy nodded, then took a blue bakugan in his hand, "Bakugan, Brawl!" he said as he tossed it to the only remaining card, "Skyress, stand!" From the blue glow came a cloud of steam and out of it streamed a huge, graceful bird that almost looked like a phoenix. With a waft of its blue wings, it blew away the steam and hovered in place, creating a cool breeze throughout the field as small drops of what seemed to be rain dripped from its moving feathers.

Aquos Skyress, 490g's.

"That weak a Bakugan?" Rabeeder said, "What's he thinking? Let me at 'em! I'll wipe the floor with him!"

Jimmy grinned.

"No," Kirk said, "He's up to something," Kirk turned and looked at his opponent or, more specifically, at the bakugan floating next to him. Kirk was pretty sure he knew what was happening, especially considering the choice of Bakugan. Grabbing his other bakugan, Kirk hurled it onto the field, "Bakugan Brawl, Saurus stand!" A familiar armor-clad dinosaur appeared across from Skyress.

Haos Saurus, 330g's.

"No!" Jimmy said, growling. Rabeeder felt herself do a double take. What? Jimmy's Bakugan was clearly superior and yet he was disappointed. She then looked at Kirk to know what he was thinking, but he was still stoic as ever, "Gate card, Open!" Kirk said. The card glowed and revealed itself: Duck and Win. Now Rabeeder really had no idea what was going on. Had Jimmy known what the Kirk's card was? However, now Jimmy was smiling again, "You thought you had me?" he said, "Just like the stupid people who can't do anything but try to beat people up! Because although my Skyress will lose this fight, when I activate Flowing Waters, I'll put my other two gate cards into my used pile and win the game anyway!" Jimmy held aloft his card and it began to glow. Water then began to spill out of it and onto the ground, the shape of two gate cards appearing in it.

"Not so fast!" Kirk said as the wall of force manifested behind him, "This game isn't over!" And now Kirk held aloft his own ability card: Haos 2. Jimmy's smile faded and Hairadee growled as Jimmy's first tally disappeared from his side and reappeared next to Kirk. And as Saurus knelt down and let the wall hit Skyress square on, only two tally's would be next to Jimmy and a second one appeared next to Kirk as the bakugan returned to their owners.

Jimmy fell to his knees, "But...why?" he muttered, "Why didn't it work? It worked on everyone else..."

"You blockhead!" Kirk yelled as he pointed his finger, "I taught you that move! Did you really think I wouldn't see it coming?! And now I'm the only one who has any gate cards left to play! Don't think you're so tough!"

Jimmy then curled into a little ball. Kirk panted in his anger, but soon heard another sound cover the field. Jimmy then raised his head and Kirk was stunned by what he saw. Jimmy was crying, "Why..." he muttered under the tears, "Why is everyone being so mean to me?"

Kirk suddenly felt a massive pang of guilt. In his efforts to stop Hairadee, he'd gotten caught up and had berated the one he'd tried to help. a somber attitude now covered the field.

"K-Kirk?" Rabeeder asked, disturbed by the silence, "What are you doing? You've got him on the ropes! You should- MMPH!!"

"You stay outta this," Kirk said as he grabbed Rabeeder, closing her up and keeping her from talking. He then took a deep breath, "Look," he said, "I had no idea you were being harassed or that you would get beaten up. Why didn't you say anything?" Jimmy didn't respond, "Didn't you tell anyone?" Kirk pressed.

There was another long pause and the air worked up by Kirk again grew still. "I..." Jimmy finally said weakly, "I...can't."

"And why not?" Kirk asked, "If people are ganging up on you, you shouldn't keep it to yourself!" He said.

"Don't listen to him!" Hairadee bellowed, no longer able to stand by and watch, "He's trying to trick you again!"

"You stay out of this, too!" Kirk roared as he drew back his arm and hurled Rabeeder like a baseball across the field. Hairadee had just enough time to look up for him to be konked on his affixed head by Rabeeder. The two bakugan collapsed to the ground, moaning in pain.

"But..." Jimmy continued, "If... if my mom ever figured out stuff like this happened because I played Bakugan, she'd take them all away from me. But I don't want her to because I like bakugan!"

"Are you sure?" Kirk said, "After all that's happened, can you really say that they make you happy?"

"I don't want them taken away!" Jimmy said, standing up, "I've read everything about the Brawlers and Vestroia and the Bakugan that I can find and don't know what I'd do if I didn't have that anymore! I don't want them to go!"

"Then tell her that!" Kirk said, "It's not the Bakugan themselves that are bad, but the people who use them to do bad things that are bad. And what have you been doing now? Hurting people like this, is this the right thing to do?"

"What? No!" Jimmy begged, "I'm not bad, I'm not!"

"You know what?" Kirk said, the intensity in his voice leaving him, "You're right. You're not the bad one at all. You just gave into someone who pressured you into seeking revenge."

"But..." Jimmy said, "But I've still done some awful things! What should I do?"

"Just forgive and forget," Kirk said, "The things you've done are the kind you can put behind you. Things will get better now that you've stopped."

"R-right..." Jimmy sniffed. However, he seemed to be smiling now.

"Good," Kirk said, "So let's just stop this, okay?"

"No!" Jimmy said firmly. Kirk suddenly paused nervously.

"Heh heh..." A sinister voice said, "That's right," As Hairadee slowly wobbled into the air, "We'll show him real pain!" Kirk girded himself as he feared Hairadee would again exert his influence.

"It's not that," Jimmy said, "I don't want to get revenge anymore, but I still want to fight you." Jimmy smiled, but rather than one of malice, it was one of excitement, "I just want to fight you fair and square!"

Kirk could tell Jimmy was no longer feeling vengeful and finally relaxed, "Fine," he said, "Fair and square it is! Gate Card, Set!" Since Kirk was the only one with any gate cards left, his card took up all of the field, "it's still your turn, Jimmy," he said.

"Right!" Jimmy said, "Because I also sent a Bakugan away with Flowing Waters, I get them back and get to use Hairadee again right away!" he said. He snatched Hairadee and threw him onto the card. Hairadee manifested his true self once more, but this time he looked far more angry than ever.

"Partnerrrr..." A voice next to Kirk moaned. Kirk turned to see Rabeeder floating weakly next to him, sporting a bump on her head from the impact, "Why did you throw me like that?"

"Sorry," Kirk said, "But I just needed you two to shut up for a minute. Anyway, it's your turn, get in there!" Kirk grabbed Rabeeder, drew her back, and threw her in, "Bakugan, Brawl!" He said as Rabeeder bounced into place, "Rabeeder, Stand!" Right across from Hiaradee, Rabeeder appeared in a stream of orange light, glaring at Hairadee.

Aquos/Ventus Hairadee 700g's  
Haos/Subterra Rabeeder 700g's

Hairadee growled, "It doesn't matter that your human snapped mine out of my control, all I have to do is beat you down and I'll grab a choke hold over his mind again! There's nothing you can-"

"Oh will you SHUT UP with that annoying voice already?!" Rabeeder screeched, "Thanks to you, my head really hurts and because you blasted me with snow I think that I'm a--ah-ah-ah," And then Rabeeder sneezed loudly, "I think I'm getting a cold!!" She sniffed, wiping her nose with a handkerchief she pulled out of nowhere., "I'm in a really bad mood right now!"

"I thought stupid people didn't catch colds," Kirk muttered.

"I heard that!" Rabeeder yelled.

"Gate card, open!" Kirk motioned and the card revealed itself. Several rocky crags embedded with bright stoned appeared around the two powerful Bakugan. It was the gate card Muddy Ground.

Aquos/Ventus Hairadee 700 + 60 = 760g's  
Haos/Subterra Rabeeder 700 + 140 = 840g's

Rabeeder made what was clearly an angry face as she cracked the knuckles on her larger set of hands, ready to deliver a beating.

"H-Human!!" Hairadee commanded nervously, "Ability card, now!"

"Only if you call me by name!" Jimmy said.

Hairadee growled. He didn't want to submit to the human he once controlled, but then he felt Rabeeder's large arms grab his body. As he was crushed in their grip, he knew now he had no choice but to swallow his pride...for now. "J-Jimmy..." he strained out.

"Right!" Jimmy said, 'Ability card, activate! Whirling typhoon!" All of a sudden, a wet gust of wind blew from around Hairadee, causing Rabeeder to lose her grip. Hairadee grimaced and began to spin around, forming a huge tornado that stretched as high as they could see. "Whirling Typhoon is a blue ability card that gives a bonus to Ventus or Aquos bakugan, but because Hairadee is both, he gets both bonuses!"

Aquos/Ventus Hairadee 760 + 100 + 80 = 940g's

Jimmy looked on in wonder. Finally, power that he'd created himself, not from anyone else. Rabeeder, however, wasn't as well off, now trying to shield herself from the wind and rain as the the hurricane inched closer, "Uh, Kirk? I could use some help here!"

"Right!" Kirk said, drawing his own ability card as the wind billowed around him, "Ability card, activate! Light Mana!" The card glowed a bright white and sent a ball of bright energy into Rabeeder. One of Rabeeder's larger hands glowed brightly, filled with the light energy.

Haos/Subterra Rabeeder 840 + 120 = 960g's

Shielding her eyes from the wind and rain, Rabeeder knew she had only one shot at this. Drawing back her glowing hand, She charged at the twister, thrusting it dead center. Fortunately, her grab hit its mark because the wind stopped instantly and Rabeeder found Hairadee solidly in her grip, struggling to get free.

"Finish him, Rabeeder!" Kirk said. Rabeeder nodded and the light energy around her hand began to brighten, enveloping Hairadee.

"Ggh!" Hairadee cringed, "I won't forget this, Rabeeder!" he said as he started to crackle with light energy, "You'll pay for this, you'll pay!" He yelled desperately as the light became blinding and nobody could see what was happening anymore aside from the angry screams of Hairadee, followed by an explosion. _"I'll... get...youuuu!!"_

The light subsided and the two were back in the park. Hairadee's ball lay on the ground and Rabeeder sat on Kirk's shoulder. For a while, there was silence.

"I guess I won..." Kirk said finally.

"Yeah," Jimmy said, 'But, I don't feel too bad for losing. It was fun!" he said.

"Whatever..." Kirk muttered.

Jimmy looked down on the ground at his fallen bakugan, "Why isn't he moving?" he asked.

"Eh, he's probably knocked out from the power surge," Rabeeder said, "He'll probably be up again in a few days. Still, I'd watch out if I was..." Suddenly, Rabeeder had a small pang if dizzyness and lost her balance on Kirk's shoulder. Quickly, Kirk caught her before she fell too far.

"Are, you alright?" Kirk said, raising an eyebrow. He pressed a thumb against Rabeeder's small head to find it was actually warm, "Is this... a fever?" he asked.

Rabeeder sniffled, "Well, I already wasn't feeling too good when you threw me in agaianst Hairadee and the hurricane didn't help..." She trailed off.

"Oh, what am I gonna do with you?" Kirk grumbled as he closed up Rabeeder and dashed off for home, grabbing his bag on the way. Just when he thought his problems were bad enough dealing with a talking piece of plastic, now it was sick.

Jimmy now found himself alone. But not for long because he could hear the sounds of the three bullies groaning and rising from the ground.

"Ugh, what happened...?" One of them asked. However, upon seeing Jimmy, he immediately froze along with his two friends. They were too scared to talk.

"Hey, uh..." Jimmy said, "I... I'm sorry, and"

"No!' one of them panicked, "Please don't do it again! We'll leave you alone, we promise!" he said. Jimmy couldn't think of a way to respond. For a while, they just stood there in awkward silence. Then, Jimmy took the gate card in his hand and held it up. The three bullies recoiled in terror from it and ran off, trampling and scraping to be the first to get away. Jimmy sighed. He'd been pretty mean, but at least no real harm was done. Jimmy sighed because now he really was alone again. He looked down at the fallen leaves and gave one of them a kick.

"Um, excuse me," a voice said behind him, causing Jimmy's heart to nearly jump from his chest. Jimmy turned around and saw a girl about his age and size behind him, "Um," she said nervously, "That card you're holding. Do you play Bakugan, maybe?" She asked, "I've tried finding someone to play it with but I've never asked anybody..."

Jimmy paused. Indeed while he played Bakugan, too, he hadn't met anyone but Kirk and the bullies who played. Perhaps a new chance for friendship had presented itself.

"Um, yeah."

* * * * *

"HOW?!" Steve yelled as he slammed his fists onto his desk in frustration, causing the bakugan and cards on his desk to rattle around, "How did he pull a strategy like that out of thin air?! It was impossible! I'd countered all of his strategies and he still won somehow! How did he do it?! And on top of that, I felt really bad for two whole days after we fought!" Steve growled and tugged at his hair as he thought of what he should do, the crumpled notes of his strategies littering the floor, "I need something stronger! More Bakugan! More cards! More-" However, Steve was interrupted by a flash of purple light that formed over his desk. Steve recoiled and stood up, backing away as the light formed into a vortex before him. Out from the dark portal came a glowing red sphere It floated before him and lit up the entire basement before the light faded to reveal a red and black bakugan remaining. Steve was paralyzed with fear.

"Hmm...So this is the human world," A deep, almost regal male voice said. The bakugan turned and looked at its surroundings as it continued to float. It then focused its gaze on Steve, "You," it said, "Your anger must have drawn me here. So what was it; did someone righteously defeat you?"

"Shut up!' Steve retorted, "That's none of your business! That loss was only a fluke, I'll get him back next time! I just need more power..."

"Power?" the Bakugan replied in its bellowing voice, "If power is what you crave, I have it in spades. I'll gladly give it to you if you do what I say."

"Really?" Steve said, "What would I have to do."

"Fight," The Bakugan replied, "Fight lots, and win."

"All I have to do is fight and I can have your power?" Steve said, "You'd better be good,"

"Oh, I'm better than good," the bakugan replied, "I'm the best,"

"We'll see," Steve said, "Who the heck are you, anyway?"

"Oh, how discourteous of me," the Bakugan said mockingly. It then unfurled itself, revealing a mighty red and purple dragon sculpt, _"My name is Druman, and I'm the answer to your prayers."_

_Author's notes: Yeah, this is the longest chapter yet. I think it's pretty good. So far, all of my chapters have been the rough equivalent of two episodes. Let me know what you think or if this chapter is too long. What worries me the most is I don't think I could pull out such a dramatic strategy again. We'll have to see.  
_


	5. Chapter 5: The Young Man and the Sea

Chapter 5: The Young Man and the Sea (Part one)

"Don't forget, Abagail, a proper lady is refined, calm, and quiet,"

"Yes, Mother,"

"You must have poise, dignity, and politeness,"

"Yes, Mother,"

"Do not forget these things, Abagail, as we have a name to uphold. You may go to a public school, but it it to prove you are of a higher class than them,"

"Yes, Mother,"

"Now, off to school with you. And don't forget, refined."

"...Yes, Mother"

Adjusting her glasses, Abagail watched out the passenger-side window as her mother drove her to school, repeating the usual mantras. With perfectly groomed, straight, raven-black hair, wearing a simple, but perfectly placed blue knee-length dress with matching, perfectly placed socks and a pair of polished black leather shoes, she almost had a movie-perfect appearance. Sighing, Abagail drew her head nervously into her shoulders. She knew she couldn't defy her mother and expect to get away with it. Soon, they arrived in their perfectly-polished black Lincoln in front of the far more ordinary school.

Taking her small black briefcase, Abagail opened the door and stepped out. Knowing her mother was watching, she clasped her hands holding her briefcase modestly in front of her and walked to the entrance with the poise she was expected to have. Once she heard her mother drive off, she exhaled, her posture slumped, and she walked into the school. However, she didn't get very far before she was interrupted by three figures.

"Hey, Abby," A voice said. Abagail jumped, then turned towards the source, a taller girl in a gray hoodie and shorts, and her friends, another girl with a nappy ponytail and a blond guy with a buzzcut in a football team jacket, 'So, you got me that iPhone I asked for, right?" She said. Abagail said nothing, but opened her briefcase, reached in, pulled out a box, and handed it to the girl, "Alright! Thanks Abby!" She said.

"Please..." Abagail stuttered, "I prefer Gail..."

"You say somethin' Abby?" The girl said condescendingly.

"N..no..." Abagail said and walked away.

"Wow," the guy said as he watched the girl open the box, "I didn't think she'd actually get it for you!"

"Are you kiddin'?" Girl number two said, "That girl's so rich she could prob'ly buy ten of those with her allowance!"

"Yeah, I know," the first one said as she admired her knew iPhone, "Still, she pisses me off the way she is, always dressed so perfect and walking to school with that debutant step; It's like she's trying to show off how much richer and better she is than everyone. I'll take advantage of her as much as I want,"

"Yeah, you're right!" The guy said. The three then laughed as they continued talking. Abagail had heard the whole thing, but didn't say anything. She couldn't risk confronting them or her mother would get angry. She couldn't have that.

* * * * *

"There you are!" Stacy said angrily as she grabbed Kirk's shoulder as he left the cafeteria, laden with a sack lunch and a bag of potato chips in his teeth. Kirk flipped around in shock from the sudden outburst and dropped the chips into his hands, "I looked it up and Batman is actually a guy called Bruce Wayne! Why did you say you were Batman?!"

Kirk quickly looked around; he could tell Stacy's outburst was drawing some attention. Quickly, Kirk shoved his hand over Stacy's mouth, "Shh, shut up, you twit!" he said, "I was making a joke, why'd you take me seriously?!"

Stacy shoved off Kirk's hand, "But you did all that crazy stuff and you said-"

"Just forget it!" Kirk said, "I'm not Batman, okay!"

"Well," Stacy paused, "Well, you've been acting strange lately, You keep running off in between classes and I can never find you. What are you doing?!"

Now Kirk was getting desperate to get out of this mess. He quickly grabbed Stacy by the wrist, turned, and began dashing away with her in tow. She struggled to escape his grip, but Kirk was determined to allow her to keep causing a scene. Finally, once they were outside of the building, Kirk stopped. Realizing this, Stacy wrenched her hand away.

"That hurt, you know!" She said, gripping her wrist.

"Well?" Kirk said.

"Well what?" Stacy asked.

"You wanted to know where I go all the time, right?" Kirk said, clearly exasperated.

"Huh?" Stacy realized. And then she finally realized where she was, a spot behind the school near the dumpsters where nobody else was. Of course, there was trash there, as well, "But..." She said, stepping back, "Why? This is where you go everyday?" The idea of having lunch surrounded by trash was puzzling to her. Even if he could be alone here, surely he would have been bothered by the smell.

"Not exactly..." Kirk replied, scratching his head.

"Huh?"

"Look..." Kirk sighed, "I'll tell you everything that's going on if you promise not to cause a scene like that again." Stacy was confused, but she watched as Kirk pulled out a card. Not that she thought about it, it seemed like she'd seen it somewhere before, "Now, hold onto this," Kirk said, holding up the card. Still unsure of what was going on, Stacy reached up and grabbed a corner of the card. As soon as she did, Kirk uttered the words "Field Open!" Suddenly, the card burst with light and Stacy had to shut her eyes to keep them from hurting though the light still went through her eyelids, but kept her grip. Soon, she could tell the light died down and, after a pause, opened her eyes a crack, then burst them wide open. She found herself in an alien world on a perfectly flat plane surrounded by clouds of light in all sorts of different colors.

"Wh-where are we?" She finally cringed as she took in her surroundings.

"It's the field," Kirk said, setting down his lunch, "It's where Bakugan brawls take place." He drew a gate card from his pocket and cast it out onto the field away from both of them. To Stacy's amazement, it glowed with a yellow light and suddenly expanded to many times its normal size.

"B-but where ARE we?" Stacy said, still in disbelief at what she was seeing, "How did we get here?! How do we get back?! And how do we have enough time to eat lunch here?!"

Kirk sighed as h reached into his pocket again, "Well, we're technically in the same place, but time outside has pretty much stopped. This is a temporary rip in the space-time continuum I can stay in for a while."

"So THIS is why you've been sneaking away every day? To take a longer break here?" Stacy asked.

"Pretty much," Kirk said, "Though I try not to stay here for more than an hour," Then Kirk tossed something from his hand onto the gate card. Stacy watched it as it landed but then burst into a plume of light, forcing her to cover her eyes again. When she looked back where it was, there was a huge creature that somewhat resembled a woman standing before her.

"At last," it said, "The beautiful, fantasic Rabeeder has appeared once more!" Rabeeder said as she made the diva peace sign in front of her eyes with her hand. At the sight of this, Stacy's legs weakened and she fell over backwards, paralyzed in fear. Rabeeder spotted her as she fell,"Huh? You bring a friend, Kirk?" She asked, turning to Kirk.

"I guess..." Kirk mumbled as he pulled out a perfectly plastic-wrapped sandwich.

"Well, that's great!" Rabeeder said, "Hello there, Kirk's Friend! You can call me Rabeeder, Nice ta meetcha!" And she extended one of her huge hands towards Stacy in order to shake hands. However, Stacy was still utterly terrified and couldn't move or even talk save the occasional sound that escaped her mouth, "Hmmm..." Rabeeder said, her smile fading, "That's pretty rude."

"Give her a break, she's new to this," Kirk said, "Anyway, here, ya go" he took the bag of chips he'd had earlier and tossed it to Rabeeder.

"Alright!" Rabeeder said as she caught the bag, tearing it open. Kirk sat down and prepared to eat his sandwich. Rabeeder took a chip and ate it. "Ah, I had no idea they made delicious things like this on Earth!"

"Be careful," Kirk said, "You'll get fat if you eat too many."

This caused Rabeeder to suddenly pause her eating and look down at herself, realizing just how huge she really was, '"Well," she said hesitantly, "I'm way bigger than a normal human, so...so a little bag of chips won't change anything, right?" She said, taking another handful.

"They're your calories," Kirk replied.

"K-k..." Stacy finally stuttered, "Kirk, Wh-who or what IS that thing?" She whispered as she pointed at Rabeeder who was taking a handful of chips.

"Huh?" Kirk said, "Oh, that's Rabeeder, she's supposed to be my partner in all this, but most of the time she's just a pain in my-"

"Hey!" Rabeeder interrupted through a mouthful of chips, now for some reason really close by, shocking Stacy again, "I'll have you know you wouldn't be able to do a bunch of things without me!"

"Right, right," Kirk said, finally taking a bite of his sandwich.

"But-but where are you from?" Stacy asked.

"Oh, I come from this place called Vestroia," Rabeeder replied, "But I have to say after Drago redecorated the place it just hasn't been the same."

"Drago?" Stacy asked.

"The guy in charge of the planet's core. You see about a year ago he-" And Rabeeder trailed off into explaining what she knew of Vestroia, which was only about the sum of two years, but a catastrophic two years it had been. As the girls continued to gossip, Kirk had a sigh of relief. For once, he didn't have to talk to anyone; listening was just fine for him. The conversation went on uninterrupted until Rabeeder hit a certain subject.

"Do you have any family Rabeeder?" Stacy asked.

"Family?" Rabeeder queried as though she'd never heard the term before.

"You know, like mom, dad, brothers, sisters; family," Stacy giggled. Kirk watched uninterested as he took a sip of coke.

"Oh," Rabeeder said, "Can't really say anything about mother or father but...I do have a sister." She said with sudden melancholy.

Kirk suddenly spit out his drink, "Sister?!" he said, "You mean there's ANOTHER one of you running around out there?!"

"Oh, no no, not exactly," Rabeeder said, "We're like sisters, but we don't resemble each other too much at all,"

"Oh, that can't be true!" Stacy said, "Surely you resemble each other in some ways, right?"

"Well, maybe," Rabeeder said, cupping her chin with her hand, "Uh, we...uh...we're both," She paused, obviously straining her brain on it, "We're both, uh...orange and white?"

"You're that different?" Kirk said, "What, you have different numbers of arms or something?" he joked.

"Actually, yes," Rabeeder said, "But, the thing is, I haven't seen her since I arrived on earth," Her face looked forlorn again, "I hope she's okay, the way she is sometimes..."

"Rabeeder," Stacy said, "I'm sorry..."

"It's okay," Rabeeder said, "But that doesn't stop me from worrying about Tricloid..."

* * * * *

"I assume your school day was without incident as usual."

"Yes, mother,"

"No messes, proper grades?"

"Yes mother."

"You're not being bullied, are you?" However, it was delivered more like a command.

"No, mother."

"And now that you have returned home, I trust you will do your homework and your tutoring and be off straight to bed after dinner, am I correct?"

"Yes, mother."

Now in her pajamas, Abagail collapsed onto the wrought iron bed in her room consisting of mahogany stained so dark it almost seemed black. Even though she didn't show it on her face most of the time, she was crushed with the stress of meeting her mother's expectations as well as saving face at her school.. However, she did have one small comfort. Inside her desk hidden away she kept some marbles. However, they weren't just marbles, but marbles that transformed into odd creatures. She'd collected some because they were easy to hide from her mother and though many of the one's she'd seen before were kid of ugly, she found some of them quite cute. She'd never played the game, though. However, it just didn't seem to make her feel any better tonight and, still as somber as before, Abagail set her Bakugan onto her desk and went to sleep.

"Abagail...oh Abagail..." A feminine voice cooed to her the next morning. Abagail heard it clearly and awoke. However, the glimpse of her clock told her it was far too early and the voice seemed far to gentle to be her mother, "Over here," the voice said. Shifting around in her bed, Abagail could see a soft blue-green light filling her bedroom. Turning completely around, she saw her Bakugan collection still on her desk: the dog, the bird-girl, the mermaid, and another one she didn't recognize. Had she owned it before? It sure didn't look familiar. Was it a girl? A fish? Both? She really couldn't tell. But it seemed to be the source of the light and the voice, "Poor baby, tormented by those around her," It said. Abagail simply cringed, "Oh?" The bakugan continued, "You don't want to do anything about it? You're happy being trampled on your whole life?" Abagail shifted around away from the creature. Surely it was a dream, "But I can sense it in you, you know," the voice continued, "The urge to fight back, the inner beast just waiting to let loose on those who try to take advantage of you."

Abagail turned back, "No," she said, "I wouldn't hurt anyone,"

"You've merely convinced yourself of that," The bakugan replied, "But when someone tries to take away something else that matters to you, you'll find the strength you need."

"But...what could I do?" Abagail said.

"When you go out today, take us with you. I'm sure you'll get the inspiration you need."

"Take me with you, but, I can't do that!" Abagail said, sitting up, "My mother might find out!"

"That won't mean anything, When the time comes _Taygen will help you release your inner monster._" At this, the bakugan curled up into a ball and the light faded. Even though nothing else moved, Abagail could only sit there in disbelief.

* * * * *

"Abagail, are you ready" Her mother said harshly as Abagail finished tidying her hair. Sighing, she took another look at her Bakugan collection which she'd left on the desk, and again at that other one. It simply sat there closed, having not done a thing since earlier that morning. She looked around nervously, trying to decide what to do, "Abagail, hurry it up!" her mother said.

"Um, yes, mother!" Abagail said as she quickly swept her bakugan collection complete with Taygen into her briefcase. As she stood up, the closing mechanism jammed. She struggled with it as she left her room so as not to keep her mother waiting. As soon as she stepped outside of her door into the hallway lit by a solitary window near the ceiling, she was startled to see her mother standing right outside with her gnarled hands resting on her hips.

"What took you so long?" She demanded as Abagail continued to struggle with her briefcase, "In our high society, it is important for lady to be both punctual and well-groomed, am I right?"

"Yes moth-" Abagail's response was cut off as her briefcase dislodged and finally slammed closed. However, not all of its contents remained inside. Abagail watched wide eyed as her blue dog marble fell out and headed towards the floor, popping open with the impact landing next to her mother's foot. Her mother looked down, a sour expression on her face as she clasped the object with her long, pointed fingernails and drew it up so she could get a closer look, her wrinkled face constricting into a look of utter disgust.

"What...is this?' She hissed as she glared at the tiny piece of plastic.

"It's. It's a... it's um..." Abagail stuttered.

"A proper young lady shouldn't be messing around with such things as toys intended for stupid young children or little boys. Do you understand?" Her mother scowled. However, Abagail didn't respond. She just stood there, still as a statue in the quiet of the house. Scowling even deeper, her mother repeated herself, "Am I right?!"

"G...give it back..." A tiny voice finally escaped Abagail's lips. She clenched her hands and winced.

"What?" her mother replied, uttery offended, "You should know by now not to talk back to your elders, young lady. You have more of these, don't you?! I expect you to give them to me so I can,"

"GIVE IT BACK!" Abagail yelled. Suddenly, a bright light filled the otherwise darkened hall, taking both of them by surprise. As the light faded, the only difference seemed to be that the blue dog was back in Abagail's hands. Abagail slipped her glasses back onto her nose.

"I...I'm sorry mother, but I think I'd prefer to walk to school today," she whimpered with a polite bow as she turned and ran out of the house.

Her mother didn't respond. _She was too busy being paralyzed with abject terror._

_Author's Notes:_

_Hmm...it seems Steve is taking his time...Oh well, something i don't remember addressing in my previous chapter was that I'm taking Kirk and having him use the Field card the way someone clever would use it. If I didn't give it some kind of catch, he would have just abused it too much. What he's doing now doesn't seem to break any rules for now.  
_


	6. Chapter 6: Young Man and the Sea, Part 2

Chapter 6: The Young Man and the Sea, Pt 2

"Really? You once had a crush on someone called Dan?" Stacy asked.

"Well, he was the first guy I'd ever seen who wasn't really old or actually a cross-dresser." Rabeeder replied as she rode on Kirk's shoulder. The two were gossiping while they and Kirk were heading towards school that morning. Again, Kirk didn't mind at all as Stacy wasn't trying to talk his ear off again. Who'd have thought Rabeeder would come in handy for something like this?

"Cross...dresser?" Stacy said, a bit shocked.

"Yeah. At first I thought it was a guy but it turned out to be a girl in disguise," Rabeeder answered.

"Oh, a girl," Stacy said, relieved.

"You were thinking it was the other way around, weren't you?" Rabeeder said smugly, peering at Stacy who suddenly blushed profusely. This continued until they got near school with Kirk tucking Rabeeder out of sight in his pocket.

Stacy glanced around at the schoolyard. "Huh? That's strange..."

"What?" Kirk asked.

"Well, there's normally this fancy, black Lincoln that pulls up every morning to drop off some rich girl who goes to our school around this time," Stacy replied, "It's this really frail girl with black hair and glasses," she said as she wound her fingers around her eyes to mimic said implements, "I think her name was Abba? I wonder why it isn't here today."

"Maybe she's just sick," Kirk replied. Stacy shrugged in response. Soon, the two parted ways and headed to their first classes.

* * * * *

Abagail, now an hour late from the long walk, finally arrived at school. Head still low, she brushed her hair out of her face. She arrived in time to see the first break between classes. And of course, who should meet her but the three people she wanted to see least. Upon spotting her, the girl she'd given the iPhone to just a day before now left her friends and approached her in the abandoned school yard..

"Hey, Abby!" She said.

"I...I told you to call me Gail," Abagail muttered weakly in response.

"Whatever," the girl said, throwing an arm around Abagail's shoulders. "So, What took ya so long to get here? That fancy car of yours break down on the way and you're too rich to get a taxi, or somethin'?"

Abagail didn't respond.

"Anyway," the girl continued, "I was thinking that a Prada bag would just go great with that iphone you gave me," She then turned to face Abagail and pressed her hands together, "So, ya think you could be a pal and get something like that for me? Huh?" She tilted her head to look friendly.

"G..." Abagail gulped, "G-get it yourself..." She muttered.

"Huhn?" The girl scowled, "What was that, you little priss?! You think you can talk back to me like that?" She rose up to her full height.

"G-Get it yourself!" Abagail finally mustered the strength to say as she shut her eyes, averted her face and raised her hand. In her hand was a card. Before anyone knew what happened, blue light spilled forth from the card and everyone had to close their eyes. Once the light faded, the girl who had approached went limp and collapsed to the ground. Her two friends looked on and watched her curl up into a ball, trembling uncontrollably with fear. They then turned to Abagail as she slipped her glasses back on, then looked up at the two of them with a forlorn expression on her face. They didn't look at her for long, though, as they both turned and started running.

Meanwhile, Kirk was slouching in a chair waiting for his next class, his jacket resting on the back of his seat as it was simply too hot to wear indoors. It was then that Stacy entered the room.

"Hey, Kirk!" She said, "Say, why don't we do that thing with the card behind the dumpters again?"

"Don't say it like that," Kirk said, bolting upright, "People will get the wrong idea if you say it that way."

Stacy though about it for a few seconds, then blushed redder than before, "W-well," she said, "You know I was just wondering, since It's fun hanging out with Miss Rabeeder,"

"Miss...?" Kirk paused, "Not right now," he finally said, "I try not to use it too much, just during lunch or when I need a break."

"Why? Does something happen when you use it too much?" Stacy asked.

However, Kirk had no time to answer and they were both interrupted by a panic happening outside the room. People were running and shouting as they bolted down the hall to get away from something. Nobody in the room knew what to think until finally some guy entered the door, obviously in a hurry.

"What's happening out there?" Stacy asked, concerned.

"Man, it's CRAZY out there!" The guy replied, leaning against the wall to catch his breath, "I mean, there's this guy and some girl running from that rich chick who goes here. I dunno why but that rich girl pulls out some card and there's this huge flash o' light and the other girl went DAYOWN! It was crazy, man!"

Suddenly, Kirk popped to his senses. Grabbing his jacket, Kirk dashed out of the room and began moving the opposite direction as the people running, much to the surprise of the guy in the door. However, he didn't realize that one of his cards had fallen out. Fortunately, Stacy noticed it fall. Unfortunately, Kirk had already gone by the time she realized what was happening.

"Kirk, wait!" She said hopelessly as she picked up the card, "You dropped this!" She also dashed out of the room and tried to follow Kirk but a sudden tide of fleeing bystanders caused her to faulter and stop.

Kirk thrust his arms through the sleeves of his jacket as he ran. Soon, he saw a group of people who were clearly gathered around somebody. Upon reaching them, he could see the other girl also on the floor, cringing and muttering in fear.

"What about the guy?" Kirk asked, "Which way did they go?!" The others, stunned for words pointed down an abandoned hallway. Kirk immediately turned and began running that direction.

Later down the hall, the jock in the team jacket knew he was in trouble. He'd just reached the end of the hallway and there was a locked door between him and freedom. As he futily tried to get the door open, he looked over his shoulder to see Abagail still approaching him with her prim and proper gait.

"L-look," he said, turning around and pressing himself against the door, "Can't we just talk this over? I mean, it's not like I was asking you for anything, right?" he begged. However, Abagail simply continued to approach, "No, please," he said as she raised up the card, drawing ever nearer, "Stop it!" he said, tears forming in his eyes as the card began to light up. From this intense situation, it seemed neither of them noticed the rapid footfalls approaching them.

"Hold it!" Kirk yelled as he lunged past Abagail as the light built up, causing them both to turn in his direction.

* * * * *

Stacy finally caught up to the crowd who were watching the girl cower in fear. Panting heavily, she rested her hands on her knees, still holding Kirk's card.

"Excuse me," she huffed, "But which way-?" Once again in unison, the group pointed down the same hall, "Thanks," she said. Taking a deep breath, Stacy straightened herself, took a deep breath, and began running down the hallway. However, she had no idea that everything around her was slowing down. The students around the girl slowed down, the running students slowed down, and the teachers slowed down too as the field opened and time stopped. Stacy had no idea because she, too was slowing down...

_...And so was the Haos 2 card in her hand._

* * * * *

Kirk had to quickly step on the brakes as he went sliding past Abagail, ending up next to the jock. The three of them were now on the bakugan field, and the jock was pretty much bowled over by his surroundings.

"Wha-what the heck?" The jock said as he observed his environment, "What the heck is going on here?!"

Abagail, however, said nothing.

"Hmph," Kirk said, turning around to face the girl, "I figured it was something like this. What the heck are you doing?"

"Uh...um..." Abagail squirmed nervously, averting her gaze, "I'm sorry, uh..."

"Kirk, are we in the field again?" Rabeeder asked as she floated out of Kirk's pocket.

"Wha?!" The jock said, "Did that thing just talk?!"

"You don't need to tell him _anything_," a more sinister female voice said, "They're just getting in the way of what we need to do,"

"You think I'd let that happen?" Kirk said.

"Hey, what's going on?" The jock said, "I'm in a wierd place, marbles are talking, and nobody's even listening to me!" he sobbed

"We're going to punish the one who took advantage of you," Taygen said to Abagail.

"Took advantage..." Kirk said. he then turned to the jock, looking somewhat horrified, "You didn't..."

"NO!" The jock said, flailing his arms, "I wouldn't do something stupid like that! I haven't done anything! Well, maybe we asked her for expensive stuff, but nothing bad!"

However, Kirk still glared at the guy, then sighed, "Well," he said, "I guess I've made it my business anyway by jumping in," He popped his neck and cracked his knuckles, then turned to Abagail and Taygen, "Hey, you!" he said, "You can't just go around harassing people like that!"

"I - I'm sorry," Abagail stuttered.

"Don't apologize!" Taygen erupted.

"Sorry!" Abagail cringed. Taygen could only sigh.

"So, are we gonna have a game, or not?!" Kirk said abrupty.

"Uh-uhm.. Yes..." Abagail said, drawing a card from her hand.

"Gate Card: Set!" And the game was on! Or was it? Because, as all could see, Abagail was being quite indescisive. She fidgited with her cards and bakugan, the whole time having a very unhappy expression on her face.

"Fine, I'll go first," Kirk said, "Bakugan, Brawl!" And he cast his first bakugan into play, his trusty Monarus. However, he tossed it onto Abagail's Gate Card. A simple "Monarus, Stand!" and the fairy appeared above the card, awaiting its opponent.

Haos Monarus: 450g's

"Woah!!" The jock said, nearly falling over at the sight of this, "Holy Ra, real monsters?! What the heck is going on here?" Kirk simply gave him an annoyed glance.

At this Abagail perked up, "Oh, um..." She said, smiling slightly, "You played on my card, so that means I have an advantage, right? Okay then, let's go, Mr. Doggie!" She took out her blue dog and cast it forward.

"No, you idiot!" Taygen said harshly.

"Huh?" Abagail startled. However, it was too late, as the Bakugan landed on the card and opened. Out from the burst of blue light came a bipedal werewolf-looking creature, but with a head more like that of a Hyena.

Aquos Hynoid: 470g's

Kirk was utterly stunned by Abagail's behavior. Someone as brittle and inexperienced as her had been causing havoc just a few minutes earlier? And he thought Rabeeder and himself were an odd couple. However, there was little time to stare as the gate card burst open, revealing a small wave that washed over the surface of the card, Tsunami.

"See?" Abagail said happily, "I'm still winning!"

It hurt. It really did. It pained Kirk to have to do this, but duty called, "Ability card, activate..." he slumped with considerably less enthusiasm than normal, "Mirror Play." At this command, light emanated from the red card in his hands. Abagail's smile faded as she watched the powers between the two fighters change places. The butterfly turned a shade of blue while her own "Mr. Doggie" turned white and yellow. "Mirror Play is a Haos card that swaps the Powers and attributes of both bakugan in the fight."

Aquos Monarus: 470+170 = 640g's

Haos Hynoid: 450+80 = 530g's

Kirk's now blue Monarus ascended into the air, then came swooping down towards the Hynoid, striking it with its body and sending it flying out of the gate card.

"Ah! Mr. Doggie!" Abagail screamed, running forward to catch her bakugan as it returned to sphere form. She opened her hands to see that it had regained its blue color, but didn't move in her hand.

"You see, you simpleton? It was a trap!" Taygen said. Abagail fell to her knees., cupping Mr. Doggie in her hands.

Kirk caught Monarus as it returned to him, "Isn't that enough?" he said, "You think you could stop attacking helpless people like that?"

"Who're you calling helpless?" The jock objected.

"The guy who was cowering from a giant butterfly, that's who!" Rabeeder quipped, floating close to the jock who cringed away from her.

However, Abagail didn't respond. She simply sat there, holding her bakugan.

"Well," Kirk said, "If you're having trouble deciding, maybe this will change your mind!" He then took Rabeeder and cast her onto the remaining card. She appeared in a luminous explosion and towered over Abagail, who still didn't look up.

"Aww," Rabeeder taunted, "Did the poor little girl get her puppy hurt?" She said, "You still have a chance to give up, ya know!"

Sighing, Kirk got ready to correct Rabeeder, "Don't tease her like tha-"

_"Don't patronize me."_

Suddenly, it was as if the temperature of the entire room dropped thirty degrees from that voice. Kirk, the Jock and even Rabeeder all cringed from the sound as Abagail stood up. She drew off her glasses and gave her head a shake, her formerly proper and straight hair suddenly growing wild and wavy. And to top it off, an expression that one would believe could turn someone to stone, "What do you know about my problems? Just because I'm a girl and seem brittle doesn't give you the right to treat me like some sort of child. You should be ashamed of yourself, am I right?" She pointed accusingly.

"Y-yes ma'am," The three answered nervously, cringing.

"Wait," Rabeeder said, "Did we just get cowed by a little girl?"

Now it was Taygen's turn to laugh, "You see?" She said, "I knew it! This girl's mom was a real monster and repressed Gail here into a primp and proper princess. Neither of them realized that she had the potential to be three times the monster her mother is!" Taygen again cackled madly, but was cut off as Abagail grabbed her and crushed her in her hand.

"I didn't ask for you opinion, either!" She roared, "Ability card, Activate: Marucho's launcher!" With the red card she held aloft, one of Abagail's gate cards lifted out of her hand and flew face-down into the arena in behind Kirk's card, "Bakugan, Brawl!" She said, throwing Taygen into the air, setting her down on the card she just played, "Taygen, stand!" The largest tower of light that Kirk had ever seen came off of the figure as it landed. At first it revealed, a girl? It looked like a normal-sized girl in a green dress with excessively long sleeves and neck-length green hair. At this, Kirk relaxed somewhat, it might not be as bad as he thought. However, the bakugan was far from done forming, as soon a large, blue form appeared under where the girl's legs should have been. It looked like some scales and then...teeth...lots of them. Kirk watched in horror as the rest of Taygen turned out to be a huge Leviathan of a monster with webbed feet and a tail as long as a bus. The huge mouth opened and let out a bellowing roar. The jock screamed in terror and tripped over himself as he tried to run away. Kirk could only look on in awe as to the sheer size of Taygen, the simple beauty on the top which had concealed the ferocious beast below.

Aquos/Ventus Taygen: 750g's

"750?!" Kirk yelled, "That's higher than Rabeeder! Can we win here?"

"Oh, relax," Rabeeder said, not terribly shocked by Taygen's look, "Taygen may be powerful, but she's just a blockhead with no sense of finesse. I wouldn't worry," However, in her talking Rabeeder didn't notice the huge teeth that were headed straight for her. However, inches from reaching her, the jaws slammed shut with the sound of clashing steel. Rabeeder turned around as smug as ever looking at Taygen as she tried to come close, then floated up so she was eye-level with the green-haired girl on top of Taygen, "Naughty, naughty," She waggled her finger condescendingly, "You can't attack me, we're not on the same gate card!" and then she came up and flicked Taygen lightly on the forehead. Taygen scowled at this, then took her hand, covered entirely by the cloth of her sleeves, and slapped Rabeeder across the cheek, who recoiled from the blow.

"So, as long as I'm not trying to obliterate you, its okay?" Taygen retorted. However, her mouth strangely didn't move.

Rabeeder growled, holding her cheek, then smiled, "It figures you're no good without that fish body of yours, your upper body is so scrawny I didn't even feel it,"

"Oh, so true," Taygen said, "I mean, My body isn't nearly as developed as yours. That _manly _look really suits you."

"Ma-manly?!" Rabeeder blurted

"Yes, those buff shoulders, that thick waist," Taygen said, "I guess those of us with a more _feminine_ look," she struck a pose, "just don't compare, Miss Rabeeder."

Now it was Rabeeder's turn to be angry. "Why you little!" she fumed, lunging forward, grabbing the sides of Taygen's mouth with her smaller hands and stretching them apart, "Let's see how you like these manly arms of mine!"

Taygen growled and quickly did the same to Rabeeder. The two struggled against each other, all the time unable to cause any real harm.

"Dude, awesome!" The jock, now suddenly in close proximity with Kirk, said excitedly, "I should have brought my camera!"

"Weren't you scared out of your wits a second ago?" Kirk asked.

"Dude, this is like the _wierdest_ catfight I've ever seen in my life! It's awesome!" The jock replied. Kirk's head sank in disbelief. He figured the jock seemed to have his priorities straightened out, at least.

"You need to cut that hair of yours,!" Taygen telepathed, still tugging, "It looks like a tree's growing out of your head! Are there any birds living in it?!"

"Oh yeah?!" Rabeeder retorted, "Well YOU should at least try moving your mouth when you talk!"

"You two knock it off this instant!" Abagail's chilling voice along with a resonating stomp filled the area once more and the two baku-girls quickly stopped fighting, "Now, if I recall correctly, it is your turn, is it not?" She said harshly at Kirk.

"Uhh..." Kirk said, still chilled. Now he was wondering if the girls from before were actually scared by _Abagail_ rather than Taygen.

"Uh, dude," The jock, now more somber, whimpered, "You can win this, right?"

"Of course I can," Kirk said, "As long as I have this card, I..." As Kirk reached into his jacket pocket, he found it curiously empty, "I..." His voice wavered somewhat. He checked his other pocket: nothing. Quickly, Kirk ripped off his jacket and shook it, checking every nook and cranny. He also checked his pants pockets with equal disappointment. It was then that a realization struck him and caused him to feel a pang of fear, "I...don't have it..." he cringed.

"D-don't have what?" The jock asked nervously.

"I don't have my Haos 2 card with me, for some reason!" Kirk replied.

"Wait, you mean you _forgot your ace?!"_ The jock alarmed. Kirk's head sank. Across the field, 'Gail' smirked.

"Whaaaat?!" Rabeeder yelled, finally hearing this.

Kirk felt a bead of sweat run down his forehead. Since Haos 2 was the only green card he'd ever used, he didn't bring any others an that would mean he would be without one for the entire game! He knew the pressure was really on now. Still, since he'd used his Mirror Play card already, there was little he could do but.

"Bakugan, Brawl!" He said, casting his final Bakugan into the air, "Centipoid, stand!" And his Centipoid appeared on Abagail's card, totally dwarfed by Taygen.

Haos Centipoid: 500g's

"Is that all you have?" Taygen mocked, "I'll squash him like the bug he is!" Kirk simply waited. If luck was on his side, maybe he could pull out a win with his blue card.

"Gate card, Open!" Abagail gestured and the gate card exploded in green light. Along with the light, a brisk wind began to blow and Taygen ascended into the air, leaving Centipoid on the ground, "This card is called 'Lift'," Abagail said, "It prevents the person with the most gate cards from playing any ability cards, namely you."

Aquos/Ventus Taygen: 750+200 =950g's

Haos Centipoid: 500 + 130=630g's

There was nothing Kirk could do as Taygen swooped in and grabbed Centipoid with her massive fish jaws, tossing it up into the air like a rag doll and finally swatting it away with her tail, sending it flying out of the field and regressing back to marble form, landing at Kirk's feet.

Abagail had managed to overwhelmingly win her first gate card and ran her fingers trough her wild hair as she snickered, "So it seems the tables have turned, Mr. Haos player," She jeered, "However, I can see you still have your own trump card on the field," She indicated towards Rabeeder, who cringed as though Abagail was holding a weapon. "Well, once I clean the field of it, it'll no longer be a problem," Abagail took her last bakugan, a green one, and tossed it onto the card, "Bakugan, Brawl! Sirenoid, stand!" From the figure came a beautiful, if rather anonymous, green mermaid holding a small harp in her hands. She plucked a single string and its pleasent sound resonated throughout the field. Rabeeder braced herself.

Ventus Sirenoid: 490g's

"Gate card, open!" Kirk bellowed. An orange light appeared and revealed Rabeeder's character card.

"Oh, boo," Abagail pouted.

Haos/Subterra Rabeeder: 700 + 200 + 200 = 1100g's

Ventus Sirenoid 490 + 140 = 630

"Let's take advantage where we can!" Kirk said, "Do it, Rabeeder!"

"Right! One mermaid statue coming right up!" Rabeeder said. She rose up and did a spin in the air, "Petrification!" She yelled and light beams shot from her three feather discs, directly hitting Sirenoid, who had no time to flinch before she was frozen solid into crystal, then shattered to pieces, the marble returning to Abagail. Rabeeder and her card soared over to Kirk, adding a second point to his tally. Even without his green card, he was winning. However, he knew that it was far from over. He would need his ability cards in order for Rabeeder to beat Taygen. In that case:

"Gate card, set!" The two said in unison.

"Bakugan, brawl!" And Kirk made his move once again, keeping Rabeeder in reserve. His Centipoid landed on Kirk's gate card and once again appeared on the field.

Haos Centipoid: 500g's

"That bug again?" Abagail said, "Well, If you can crush one bug, you can crush them all!" She said, tossing her Sirenoid into the ring against Kirk's Centipoid, "I hope that isn't a Duck and Win card you've played there, or you will be sadly disappointed.." Sirenoid opened and appeared as though it had never been pertified earlier.

Ventus Sirenoid: 490g's

"It's not," Kirk said, "But with it, I can win this turn! Gate card, Open!" Krik declared and the gate card glowed a simple white color. Mysteriously, all of the ability cards of both players were glowing brightly. The gate card was Stand Your Ground.

Haos Centipoid: 500 + 50 = 550g's

Ventus Sirenoid: 490 + 110 = 600g's

"Oh? And what did you hope to accomplish by that?" Abagail said, "My bakugan is still in the lead."

"Not for long!" Kirk replied, "Ability card, activate!" He held aloft his blue card which emitted a bright light, "Power Triangle! With this card, My Aquos, Pyrus, or Haos bakugan gains 50 points for any bakugan in an unused pile. In this case, it's four!" And four lights burst from the card and struck Centipoid in the back who developed a golden aura as the power filled its body.

Haos Centipoid: 550 + 200 =750g's

"Hmm... very cute, Haos Player, very cute," Abagail said. Kirk scowled, wondering what she meant, "If I remember correctly," She said, looking at her glowing ability cards, "Stand Your Ground lets you regain all of your ability cards at the end of the battle, right?"

Kirk said nothing. Abagil smiled.

"Well then, Mr. Haos Player, allow me to teach you the proper way to conduct a battle. Watch closely!" She then took a ready position and drew her green card, "Ability card, activate! Windmills!" As the card glowed brighter, a light breeze started, then got quicker, then manifested itself into a cyclone in the distance, whipping around and causing Abagail's hair to grow even wilder while Kirk had to shield his eyes from the violent winds, "Windmills is an ablity card I got from Taygen that doubles the bonuses from the gate card for Aquos and Ventus bakugan, Mr. Haos Player,"

Ventus Sirenoid: 600 + 110 = 710

"That's still not enough to catch up!" Kirk said.

"No, but _this_ is!" Abagail retorted, "Ability card, Activate: Aquos Bowjet!" Suddenly, Sirenoid drew back one of her harp strings as if it was a bowstring and a green arrow formed along it, "Aquos Bowjet is another card Taygen gave me," Abagail said casually, "Granted, it's not used to its full potential with Sirenoid, but it'll be enough in this case."

Ventus Sirenoid: 710 + 80 =790

And Sirenoid let the arrow fly. It split into a huge flurry that turned Centipoid into a pincushion before returning it to Kirk's hand.

"And the best part about that?" Abagail said, "I get back all the ability cards I just used on you for next time!" She said, "Now let's finish this, Bakugan, brawl! Taygen Stand!" And Taygen's massive form appeared on the final card. Kirk bit his lower lip. Granted, half of the strategy had been to regain his cards, but the other one was to draw out the behemoth he was now looking at to try to drain her resources. Kirk had also regained his scant two ability cards, though, and maybe he could use them.

"Well," Taygen said, "I'll admit you're not the worst player I've gone against, but I think winning is impossible for you now!" she taunted. Kirk clenched his hands. He didn't know what to do, as he'd seldom been on the receiving end of a reversal such as this one, he was used to being the deliverer. Everything would be simple now if he'd just had his Haos 2 card on him, as just chucking Monarus at Taygen would have won him the game in one simple stroke. However he now had to look forward to playing against an opponent who obviously had him outmatched.

"Kirk?" Rabeeder said, "What's wrong?"

"I've thought it over," Kirk said, "And I don't think I can win this one."

"You can't do that!" Rabeeder scolded, "If you give up now, You'll deserve whatever those two do to you, right?"

"Shut up!" Kirk said, grabbing Rabeeder, "I don't need any lecturing from you!"

"Oh yeah?! Well you keep talking about being a good player and stuff and now that your back's to the wall you're just gonna beg for mercy? That's not the Kirk I know!" Kirk paused at this. Even though there seemed to be difficultly ahead of him, he knew he at least needed to show the dignity of going down swinging, "Besides," Rabeeder said, "She said I looked like a man! I can't forgive her for that!"

"Right, right," Kirk said, smiling subtley. He then closed Rabeeder, wound up, and threw her towards Taygen, "Bakugan, Brawl!" He said as Rabeeder's ball form hit Taygen's fish-head squarely on the nose before dropping to the ground, "Rabeeder, stand!" Rabeeder once again appeared looking ready to fight.

"Awright!" The jock said, "It's "When Monster Babes Attack Round 2: This Time It's Serious!" he made a frame with his hands at the sight. Kirk glared at him again.

Abagail, however, found the whole thing quite funny as she snickered with a malicioud grin, "Well, I see you at least have a _tasteful_ companion to join you on your trip to Hell, Mr. Haos Player. Gate card, Open!" The gate card burst open and revealed itself to be what Kirk had feared it would be: Taygen's own gate card.

Aquos/Ventus Taygen: 750 + 200 + 200 = 1150

Haos/Subterra Rabeeder: 700 + 140 = 840

"And to make sure you're finished," Abagail said, "Ability card, activate: Windmills!" Again a cyclone formed in the distance and a violent wind whipped throughout the field.

Aquos/Ventus Taygen: 1150 + 200 =1350

Kirk staggered backwards. He knew he would be at a disadvantage, but he had no idea it was this extreme. A bakugan at 1350g's with the threat of getting even higher just seemed insurmountable. Still, he had to try.

"Ability card, activate!" He said, "Mirror Play!" And the card glowed red. Rabeeder and Taygen both watched in shock as their colors began to change. What was orange, yellow, and white on Rabeeder instead became Blue, Blue-green, and green respectively, whereas Taygen's upper body became brownish and her fish form became white and yellow as they swapped attributes.

Recalculating powers:

Haos/Subterra Taygen: 700 (+200) + 140, + 140 = 1180

Aquos/Ventus Rabeeder: 750 + 200 = 950.

"And follow it up with this!" Kirk said, "Ability Card, activate: Power Triangle!" And Kirk's other card came into play, releasing two bursts of light, one for each standby bakugan.

Aquos/Ventus Rabeeder: 950 + 100 = 1050.

But it still wasn't enough. And what was worse, Kirk was out of ability cards.

"Hmph," Abagail scoffed, "A valiant effort, but I'm afraid you've hit the wall, Mr. Haos Player. Taygen! Finish her off!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Taygen said eagerly as she lunged at Rabeeder, slamming into her headlong. Rabeeder had to grab Taygen's fish head in order to avoid being tossed out. Taygen looked at her and growled, "Won't you just give up already?" She said as she violently shook to try to get Rabeeder to let go, "You're all out of options, there's no way you can win!"

"If there's one thing I've learned on Earth," Rabeeder replied, "It's that it's never over 'til it's over!" Suddenly, Kirk noticed a small, many-colored gleam appear next to him, "That," Rabeeder continued, "And I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I lost to an oversized sushi plate with a side of fanservice such as you!" Somehow, that phrase triggered a reaction and the glowing light before Kirk took on the shape of a card. When Kirk reached out to grab it, the light fragmented and blew away to reveal a green ability card.

"Rabeeder!" he said, "I found a green ability card!"

"What?!" Taygen and Abagail yelled in unison.

"Then use it, you idiot!" Rabeeder yelled.

"Right! Ability Card, Activate!" Kirk said as the card Illuminated the area in a green light, "Counter-Ability!"

Through the strain, Rabeeder, lifted one of her larger hands and fired a solid beam of yellow energy right at the twister. The twister swallowed the light into its form, but the energy caused the twister to dissolve and the winds died down as the Windmills ability was shattered.

"No!' Abagail said.

Haos/Subterra Taygen: 1180 -200 = 980

Rabeeder smirked, now at an advantage from Taygen's power loss. Tossing herself off of Taygen, she lay into the bakugan with a solid punch from her huge fist.

"Th-that won't keep you ahead for long!" Abagail yelled, "Ability card, activate: Aquos Bowjet!" Rabeeder and Kirk braced themselves as A swirl of blue and green energy formed in front of Taygen's mouth, but suddenly disappated.

"What?!" Taygen yelled, "What happened?"

"You can't use that ability card anymore," Kirk said, "because you're no longer Aquos and Ventus! Now finish it, Rabeeder!"

"You got it!" Rabeeder said as she lunged forward.

"No!" Abagail yelled as Rabeeder twisted in the air and delivered a hip-check to end all hip-checks with her lower half straight into the side of Taygen's fish-head, sending her flying off of the card and crashing to the floor in marble form. A bright light filled the field.

And like that, they were back at school. While the jock breathed a sigh of relief, Kirk and Abagail's gazes had locked.

"Hmph," Abagail scoffed, "So what if a miracle saved you this time? You won't always be able to count on them always, Mr. Haos Player," She took the now unconcious Taygen and turned to walk away.

"Hey, Kirk!" the reanimated Stacy said as she jogged down the hall. However, all it took was a simple glance into Abagail's eyes for her to freeze in place and quickly sidestep out of the way of the rich girl who ran her fingers through her hair as she left with her chilling charisma.

"Whew!" The jock said, wiping the sweat from his brow, "Well, all's well that ends well, right?" He pat Kirk on the back. However, Kirk turned and glared at him.

"Don't be a jerk again or _I_ might be the one who attacks you next time, capice?" Kirk said, holding up his gate card. The Jock cringed from his expression, nodded, then took off down the hall. Kirk sighed, then relaxed, as possibly the most difficult match of his life was finally over.

"Kirk, finally!" Stacy said, "Here, you dropped this," She held out Kirk's Haos 2 card. Kirk looked at the card for a while before he finally took it from her. While it had been difficult, not having his trump card on him was an interesting experience. And how had Rabeeder triggered the appearence of the ability card? This was something that deserved further study.

**Later, at lunch behind the dumpters**

"I can't believe she said I looked like a MAN!!" Rabeeder sobbed as she tore open her fifth bag of chips.

"Please calm down, Miss Rabeeder," Stacy pleaded as Rabeeder stuffed herself, "If you eat that many chips, you really will hurt yourself!"

Kirk grumbled, "This really isn't gonna get any easier, is it?"

To be continued...

_Author's notes: Yeah, I took a while getting this one out, but you gotta admit it's a huge chapter with an epic fight, right?! I get the feeling that this isn't the last we've seen of Gail and Taygen. And what of Steve? What new challenges await our hero as he continues on his way?_


	7. Chapter 7: Steve's Revenge Part 1

"What do you mean, we're not fighting today?" Rabeeder asked as she bounced up and down on the couch arm.

"It means what I said," Kirk replied as he flipped through the channels, "It's the weekend and I'm taking a break, so leave me alone." He and Rabeeder were watching some morning television. His parents were sleeping in on the weekend as usual, so they were alone.

"No! We're partners!" Rabeeder quipped, "Doing everything together! Fighting together! Whatever happened to that? Can't you hear what I'm saying?"

"I thought 'partners' didn't boss each other around," Kirk retorted. Then he thought of something, "Speaking of speaking, why does it seem that Bakugan talk in different ways?"

"What?" Rabeeder asked, tilting over slightly.

"I mean, you talk normally, but other bakugan like Taygen don't talk with their mouths. How does that work?"

"I dunno," Rabeeder said, "I mean, some Bakugan like Hairadee and me speak like you do, but most bakugan um..." She paused, looking left and right, "Then again, even I'm talking and I'm in ths form so...it's like..."

"Telepathy?" Kirk said.

"Yeah...NO!" Rabeeder said, "Not like talking to your mind! More like, uh...making sound without speaking, I guess?" She pondered out, then sighed, "Ugh, you're right. My brain hurts, let's take a break,"

Kirk smiled. A little tangent like that could often get him out of trouble with Rabeeder. Then again, nothing of note had really happened all week, not even "Gail" had caused any problems. Even that oddball he'd used Rabeeder against the first time had become curiously absent. It looked like it would hopefully be a restful weekend. However, Kirk would soon find his hopes dashed as there was a knock at the door. He figured it was probably Stacy, so he simply ignored the first few knocks to pretend to not be home. However, the knocking didn't stop and soon grew more powerful and furious, like someone desperate to get in. Now left with no choice, Kirk had to get up and open the door. Standing on his porch, panting hard, was Steve's little brother.

"Oh, hey, it's the fat kid!" Rabeeder said discourteously from Kirk's shoulder, "How's it goin'? How on earth do you know where we live?"

"You gotta help!" The kid said. Kirk noticed that he seemed to look more desperate than normal, "It's my big bro; He's gone CRAZY!!" he pointed down the streets, "I dunno what to do and none of my friends can stop him! Please, you gotta do somethin'!"

Kirk sighed, then turned around, "What that guy does is none of my business," He then began to close the door."

"He's smashing people's bakugan!" The kid yelled.

Kirk stopped, then opened the door again, "He's what?"

"Crushing them! First, he challenges them to a brawl and when he wins he steps on their bakugan and wrecks them; it's horrible!"

Kirk let out a groan, "It seems like I'm always getting caught up in stuff like this!" Shutting the door, Kirk quickly put on his jacket, tied his headband, grabbed a handful of Bakugan and headed out the door, Steve's little brother showing him the way.

Soon, Kirk was on the scene. He could see Steve looming over those he had defeated, several parts of plastic bakugan littering the floor. The younger kids were devastated from the brutality Steve had shown. Steve's silent gloating was disturbed by Kirks approach, however, and he turned around.

"Well, well," he said, "If it isn't my old nemesis. Finally got your duff out of bed huh?"

"Just what on Earth do you think you're doing?!" Kirk said, "I thought I'd gotten you to stop this kind of thing,"

"Oh?" Steve said, "But that was taking people's bakugan away. This time, I'm doing them a favor."

"A favor?!"

Steve's grin then widened to a sinister grimace, "I am eliminating weakness!" He said firmly. Kirk clenched his hands in reflex to this talk. Seldom had he seen someone have that kind of expression, but it was getting quite familiar to him now. As he pondered the possibility that someone as dangerous as Steve was in the kind of situation he feared it was in, the Bakugan he was clenching made a loud clack and one of them popped loose and bounced across the sidewalk towards Steve.

It was Monarus.

Steve chuckled as he looked down, "I remember _this_ little butterfly," he said, "There's no nead for it in the world of the strong!" Steve brought up his foot. Kirk tried to dash at Steve to make him stop, but he was too late. With the soild sound of hard rubber hitting concrete, parts flew everywhere: a wing landed here, a leg there. Steve lifted his foot to reveal only scraps of plastic.

Now Kirk had finally lost his cool, "What the HELL was that?!" he yelled, "You think you can do something like that and get away with it?!"

"Dude," Steve said, "It's only plastic,"

"The plastic has nothing to do with it!" Kirk said, "It's about respecting the game and your opponent! I should have figured you'd be too tense to realize it."

"Yeah!" Rabeeder said as she perched on Kirk's head, "How are we supposed to fight now without Monarus?!"

"What is this?" A darker, more sinister voice emanated nearby. A purple and red bakugan climbed onto Steve's shoulder, "Is someone saying that survival of the fittest is wrong?" Kirk suddenly felt Rabeeder shudder above him.

"That has nothing to do with right now!" Kirk said, "I'm gonna teach you a lesson." However, Kirk noticed that he didn't get Rabeeder's usual addition to his bravado; she was silent. Instead, she was staring long and hard at the red and purple bakugan: Druman.

"We do not need to fight him," Druman said, "Let's go,"

"Look, if you're really that pissed about your bakugan, then take this one!" Steve pulled out a bakugan and threw it full-speed at Kirk's head. Kirk was barely able to catch it, otherwise it would have struck him right between the eyes. Kirk opened his hand to find the Pyrus Warius Steve had previously used against him. He looked at Steve, puzzled, "Surprised?" Steve said, "I have no need for that thing anymore now that I've got Druman, you can have that one,"

"It's not just MY bakugan, dammit!" Kirk yelled, clenching the Warius, "It's everyone's bakugan you smashed. I'll drive it into your thick skull, this time! Let's go, Rabeeder!" Kirk said.

"W...we shoudln't do that..." Rabeeder stuttered.

Kirk was appauled, "WHAT...are you talking about?! Usually you're all, "fight, fight, fight!" Why the sudden change?"

"We just don't need to fight him, is all!" Rabeeder said, "Please, can we just go?"

"That's right, there's no need for us to fight," Druman replied.

"Well, I say there is!" Kirk yelled, drawing the field card. Steve huffed and pulled out his own field card.

"Kirk, Hold on..."

"FIELD..."

"No, please, DON'T!!"

"OPEN!!"

* * * * *

"Oh no..." Rabeeder stuttered as she floated there, now within the swirling candy colors of the field. It was clear that Rabeeder was now in a very vulnerable state, judging by how she wavered in the air.

"Rabeeder," Druman finally said, obviously irritated, "Can't you keep control of your own human?"

"Uhhh..." Rabeeder said, "Well, he's got a stronger will than most; it just sorta turned out this way..."

"Rabeeder, what's he talking about?" Kirk said, growing more suspicious.

"HMPH!" Druman snorted, "You're a pathetic excuse for a Bakugan, Rabeeder. I thought women were supposed to be better at manipulation, anyway."

"Well, what about you?!" Rabeeder said, "You were the one always saying that humans are worthless, and now you're there as a human's pet!"

Druman chuckled, "Ah, yes," he said, "As you can see, I've changed my mind. Humans aren't worthless, they are great _tools_, perfect _blunt instruments_ to use for your own success."

"Steve, don't you care about what Druman is saying about you?!" Kirk yelled.

"Who cares?" Steve shrugged, "He can call me whatever he wants as long as he gives me all the power I need."

Druman cackled, "That's what I like to hear, good boy." He then loomed forward, "Still, now that your stupid human has insisted on getting involved in this, it will be a pleasure to crush you in mortal combat!"

"Uhm," Rabeeder stuttered, "Can't we just talk this over?"

"NO!" Came the resounding reply.

"Gate card..."

"...SET!!"

"Now then," Steve said, "Let's go, Druman," Druman curled up into his ball form and with a swift motion, Steve grabbed him and tossed him into the arena, "Bakugan, Brawl! Druman, stand!" Druman's eyes lit up a bright red as the bakugan was wreathed in a plume of purple and red flames. Out from the flames rose a bipedal dragon, lanku and long-limbed with horrible claws. It's wings were more like arms that grabbed onto his shoulders and were like hands with huge eyeballs in the middle of them. While Tayghen was terrifying, herself, Druman seemed to have a more crushing aura.

Pyrus/Darkus Druman: 850g's

Eight...hundred...fifty... Kirk could barely grasp that such a powerful bakugan could exist! Perhaps this is why Rabeeder was so nervous? No, there had to be more to it than that, as Rabeeder acted way too familiar with Druman. Heck, she'd been acting familiar with all of the evil Bakugan that had appeared, come to think of it. Still, Kirk knew he would have to belay his suspicions until the brawl was over. He then looked at what he had hastily grabbed on his way out. With the loss of his Monarus, it seemed that he had few choices remaining to him. Still, hopefully he could scrape something together, something that started with his first move:

"Bakugan, Brawl! Sirenoid, stand!!" Kirk hurled the bakugan into the ring onto the gate card he had played. Druman paid it no mind as it passed by him. Out from the bakugan came a mermaid whose skin was almost white as snow, but instead had blue accents and bright green hair to go with it.

Pearl Aquos Sirenoid: 490g's

"Hey, Kirk," Rabeeder prodded, "How come you have an Aquos bakugan?"

"Well, when I first saw it, it was white, so I thought it was Haos." was Kirk's direct reply.

"Oh, so THIS is the bakugan my little brother was trying to win from you?" Steve said, "Oh well, it doesn't matter now, as I can simply stomp it into the ground! Bakugan, Brawl!" This time, a black and purple sphere came from Steve's hand, this one with a shining metal base around its midsection, "Darkus Alpha Hydranoid, stand!!" Out from the purple light that shone before Sirenoid came a horrifying multi-headed monster. Like a mix of snake, dragon, and lizard, the beast has three heads, three tails, and three sets of wings. In its midsection spun three chop-saw blades, ready to slice and dice any opponent.

Heavy Metal Darkus Alpha Hydranoid: 650g's

"I only kept Warius around for the power, now THIS beauty was the true centerpiece of my collection before Druman came along!"

Another big one. Despite the loss of his Warius, Steve was still dead serious about this.

"Gate card, open!" Kirk said, "Baked Soil!" The card opened and the light of a burning sun combined with the sound of cicadas filled the arena, "Since Sirenoid is a pearl bakugan, she can take the highlighted bonus, instead!"

Pearl Aquos Sirenoid: 490 + 180 = 670

Heavy Metal Darkus Alpha Hydranoid: 650 + 50 = 700

"But it still isn't enough!" Steve retorted as Alpha Hydranoid swung around and smashed Sirenoid with its three spiked tails, hurling the bakugan back to Kirk. One point for Steve.

Kirk grit his teeth. He knew that Steve was always a vicious opponent, and now with Druman on his side, how could he and Rabeeder hope to prevail?

_Ugh, FINALLY!! I barely had time to save the rest of the documents that made up this story! Sorry for taking so long guys and I'll try to discipline myself better in the future._

_Anyway, this chapter marks the awaited return of Steve, the battle debut of Druman, and the introduction of Special-treatment Bakugan (Beyond Dual-Attribute, of course)._

_Can Kirk survive this latest threat, find out next time on Baku-Ball Z!!  
_


End file.
